Two good salads

At this time of year, it is useful to have some salad recipes that don't involve lettuce (again) or couscous (again).  I am so bored with lettuce and couscous by the end of June.  I love tomato salads - tomatoes with mozzarella, or avocado, or cress, or capers, or basil...or pretty much anything.  But sadly, and annoyingly, neither of my children will entertain the idea of eating a fresh tomato. 

They're missing out, but until I can persuade them otherwise I have to turn elsewhere for my non-lettuce and non-couscous salads.

These two salads are the ones I make most often at this time of year.

Sour Carrot Salad

• 4 nice carrots
• 1 large handful sunflower seeds
• 1 large handful linseeds
• 1 large handful sultanas
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil

Grate the carrots coarsly into a big bowl.  Put the sunflower seeds and linseeds into a dry frying pan over a medium heat and stir until toasted and the linseeds start popping.  Tip them into the bowl of carrots.  Add the sultanas, vinegar and oil to the bowl as well.  Mix well and serve.

Broad bean, pea and mint salad

• broad beans - about 20 pods or whatever you have
• frozen peas - about a cereal bowl full
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• a slug of olive oil
• a large handful of mint leaves, chopped

Pod the broad beans, boil for about 4 minutes, cool under running water and pop the bitter skins off.  Tip into a nice serving dish, add the remaining ingredients, stir well and leave at room temperature for about an hour until the peas have defrosted and the flavours well mingled.

I like both these salads because they can be made well ahead of time.  The carrot salad travels particularly well and so is great for picnics or camping.

They both use ingredients that I always have in the house (apart from broad beans, which are a seasonal treat, but actually the recipe still works well without them).  I buy linseeds at Waitrose, but I think most of the big supermarkets sell them too, and Holland & Barrett certainly do.

Both the salads have strong flavours which really appeal to my children.  Now they are older they are far more likely to moan at bland flavours than strong ones, so I am exploiting this for all it's worth.  Tonight I chucked anchovies and loads of chilli into the pasta sauce and they both wolfed it down and asked for more.