Sam Ellis-Cosgrove's vegetable patch salads recipes

All the hard work of spring is finally paying off and my veg patch is filling up nicely with delicious goodies. As always, my little garden helpers and I can’t resist over-sowing, so we do end up with more than expected! That said, we gift some to our neighbours and most importantly, we get creative with ways to use them up. This month I’m sharing some of our favourite salad recipes using the vegetables we grow every year

Aubergine, feta and pomegranate salad (Image: Sam Ellis-Cosgrove)

Aubergine, feta and pomegranate salad

This is one of my favourite ways to use aubergine, smokey and soft with the tang of sharp feta and sweet crunch of pomegranate seeds. I sometimes add in a sliced red chilli for an extra kick and dill also works well instead of the parsley

Ingredients

Serves four-six

2 aubergines

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp sumac

Sea salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

200g feta

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

Handful fresh parsley

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180°/160°C fan.

Cut the aubergines into bite-sized pieces.

Add to a bowl and mix in the oil, sumac and seasoning.

Transfer to a roasting tray. Cook for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Once cooked, place the aubergine on a serving platter and pour over any cooking juices. Crumble over the feta and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Masala Roasted Carrots with Mint Yogurt (Image: Sam Ellis-Cosgrove)

Masala-roasted carrots with mint yoghurt

The earthy spices of the masala and the coolness of the yoghurt are the perfect accompaniments to sweet roasted baby carrots. You can serve this with the carrots warm from the oven or at room temperature

Ingredients

Serves four

200g baby carrots

1tbsp olive oil

1tsp garam masala

1tsp ground cumin

Sea salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

200g natural yoghurt

1tbsp mint sauce

½tsp caster sugar

1tsp nigella or black sesame seeds

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan.

Place the carrots on a roasting tray, add the oil, garam masala and cumin. Season and toss the carrots to ensure they are all coated. Roast for 20 minutes.

While the carrots are roasting, mix together the yoghurt, mint sauce and sugar. Season and smooth onto a serving dish.

Top with the carrots and sprinkle over the seeds.

Tomato Salad with Toasted Walnuts (Image: Sam Ellis-Cosgrove)

Tomato salad with toasted walnuts

In this simple salad, the tomatoes really are the star of the show. If you grow your own, you will know how different the flavour can be to shop-bought and therefore simple is better when they are ripe and juicy. You can use any variety of tomatoes, I like to use a mixture of different shapes, sizes and colours

Ingredients

Serves four

50g walnut pieces

300g tomatoes

1 small red onion

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1tbsp pomegranate molasses

Sea salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat a large pan to medium and add the walnut pieces. Toast for a few minutes until slightly golden, remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a serving platter. Peel and thinly slice the onion then add to the tomatoes.

To make the dressing, mix together the olive oil and pomegranate molasses, season well and pour over the tomatoes. Top with the walnuts and serve.

Courgettes with Lemon and Harissa (Image: Sam Ellis-Cosgrove)

Courgettes with lemon and harissa

There is always a glut of courgettes in our veg patch, so we often make them into little savoury cheesy muffins which the children love, equally delicious is a chilled courgette and mint gazpacho. This recipe, however, is a firm favourite. Soft, slightly spiced, very moreish, and goes perfectly with barbequed lamb

Ingredients

Serves four

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4-6 courgettes, depending on size

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 preserved lemon, sliced

Salt & pepper

1tbsp harissa paste

Few sprigs mint

Method

Heat 2tbsp oil in a large pan. Slice the courgettes, reduce the heat to med/low and cook the courgettes gently for five minutes.

Add the garlic and preserved lemon, season well and cook

for a further five minutes until soft then set aside.

To make the dressing, mix together the harissa with 1tbsp of oil, season well and drizzle over the courgettes. Garnish with chopped mint and serve..