Salads can be beautiful works of art.
They are a great way to show how beautiful vegetables can be. I can't think of a better example of this then a rainbow salad.
I once saw chef and healthy eating advocate Jamie Oliver show a couple boys how to prepare a rainbow salad with a homemade dressing on an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.
I searched around for quite a while to see if I could find this recipe. I finally came upon a video of another Jamie Oliver show - Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. He prepares a rainbow salad in this show.
Here is the recipe taken from his 30 Minute Meals show:
Ingredients
Dressing
- 5 or 6 sprigs of tarragon leaves removed (mint or basil are another option)
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- ½ a red chili pepper keep or remove seeds, it's up to you
- 1 clove of garlic
For the salad
- 3 Small Red Beets
- 3 Small Orange Beets
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Bulb Fennel
- 1 Summer squash
- 1 Zucchini
- Top of one bunch of watercress optional
Instructions
Making the dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust flavor as you see fit.
Making the salad
- Clean and prepare all ingredients to fit into your food processor with the large shredding disc attached. Do one vegetable at a time, to create a layer look. Drizzle the salad with dressing and serve.
Use this recipe as more of a guide than an actual recipe. Use whatever you find fresh to create a dazzling display of color in your salad bowl.
Head to your local farmers market for inspiration.
Here is what I used the first time I made this salad.
2 red beets
3 carrots
1 bulb fennel
1 green Zucchini
1 yellow Zucchini
1 baby romaine heart (this I just sliced with a knife)
You could also use different colored bell peppers, green cabbage, red cabbage, different colors of carrots (purple, red, yellow), summer squash, cucumbers, etc. Be creative. Use whatever is in season right now.
How to Make this in a Food Processor
Do you own a food processor? It likely came with a slicing disk for slicing vegetables thin. Many of you may not have ever used it before. I have to say the first time I used mine was making this recipe.
Since then I have come to appreciate it and use it a lot more. So encourage you to give them a try.
Don't have one? You can buy one.
Using the Salad as a Burger Topper
I also wanted to mention that I took this salad to a church picnic. People starting place it on top of their hamburgers. People loved that! There is another way to use this salad. It's much tastier than putting boring old iceberg lettuce on it.
Thoughts on the Dressing
The dressing itself doesn't make a whole lot. I think for the amount of veggies I used, you need a double batch, which is what I made. The dressing tastes really good even if you decide not to use the chili. The raw garlic that I used in it that I got from the farmer's market, provided a nice pleasant heat.
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Meg L
Thank you for posting this! I just watched that episode of revolution and it looked so good!! Can't wait to make this (and take a further look at your site :D)
admin
Thanks for the feedback!
Karen Teeling
Thank you so much. I kept getting deeper and deeper into the mirey muck of the internet looking for this recipe. Jamie's website isn't very user friendly.
admin
Glad you found what you were looking for. I know what you mean. I couldn't find until a friend who a video and then just copied what he said in the video. I am not a big fan of the layout of his website.
Dan
I’ll give it a try, thanks for the suggestion!
Kim
Oh, thanks! This episode just aired last week in Canada as far as I know. I was also looking for this recipe, I wish Jamie Oliver made his recipes less secretive, this is not the first time I've had this problem with him. But I guess I can understand why. Thanks very much, I just ate it again today, two days after making it. It can handle a few days in the fridge, which is another big plus.
Reyn
It's from Season 1 episode 17 smoky chowder,tiger prawn,rainbow salad and elderflower slushie. I watched it this week and was impressed with the colours of the salad and the fact it was chopped would make it easier to digest 😀
Angie Kelly
I only just saw this episode last night (really hoping it was a repeat or we are SO far behind in Aussie) This salad is awesome...so quick, simple and healthy..and looks fantastic. The dressing is sublime, given a liveliness through the chilli and tarragon.
Margrethe
Been searching for this. I couldn´t find it on Jamie´s website, probably because it´s some time ago now... Just saw the show in Norway recently. Thanks! Will try it very soon 🙂
Eric Samuelson
I am glad I could help. Let me know how it turns out!