Ingredients (large salad serving 4 as a side dish or two as main)
For the salad
- 2 gem lettuce, sliced
- 100g mange tout
- 50g rocket
- 100g asparagus spears
- 1/3 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and sliced
For the croutons
- 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of dried oregano
- A pinch of dried thyme
For the almond dressing
- 75g whole almonds
- 100ml almond milk
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp mustard
- ½ clove of garlic
To serve
- 1 tbsp mixed seeds
- A few sliced olives
Method
Preheat the oven to 2000C.
For the croutons, remove the crust from the bread slices and cut into cubes. Put on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the herbs and season with some salt. Toss with your hands to coat. Bake for a few minutes, until golden brown.
To make the almond dressing, soak the almonds in boiling water for a couple of hours or overnight. Bring a small saucepan with water to the boil, blanch the almonds for 30-40 seconds and drain. While still warm, remove the skins. Place the almonds and all the other ingredients in a jug of a stick blender and blitz. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the salad, blanch the asparagus and mangetout for 2 minutes and drain. Drop in some icy water to cool down and preserve their colour. Put in a bowl and mix with the raw vegetables. Scatter the croutons, drizzle with the almond dressing and sprinkle with the seeds and sliced olives.