When it comes to healthy eating and nutritious meals, salads are often high at the top of the list, and for good reason. They can easily be freshly prepared, are rich in nutrients and fiber, and a great meal option if weight loss is your goal. However, your good old daily green salad can start to feel a tad repetitive if you don’t mix up the ingredients from time to time.
This one – from Chef Kenneth Ngubane’s table – sports rich flavors, healthy fats, and some protein in the form of biltong and blue cheese, along with your daily dose of vegetables, thereby giving you a great alternative to your usual lunch or dinner meal. If your plan is to include more plants in your diet for healthier skin and better longevity, click here to find out which plants are the best for this goal.
Nutrition expert Jessica Pieterse says: “If weight gain is a concern, reduce the fat and kilojoule content of the salad by using lean biltong, substituting the blue cheese for feta cheese, and adding more vegetables.”
Need more motivation to eat more fruits and vegetables? Learn about the link between doing this and a decreased risk for lung cancer.
Biltong And Blue Cheese Salad
Serves 4:
Ingredients:
- 200g biltong, sliced
- 120g spinach, shredded
- 40g vine tomatoes
- 40g cucumber
- 60g scallion
- 60g peppadews
- 80g blue cheese
- Reduced balsamic vinegar, to glaze
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
1. In a bowl, combine the shredded spinach tomatoes, cucumber, scallion, peppadews, and blue cheese with your hands, until well mixed.
2. Transfer the contents onto a wooden board or salad bowl. Place the biltong on top of the salad and drizzle with reduced balsamic vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste.
Kenneth Ngubane is the executive chef at Tsogo Sun’s Punchinello’s and the banqueting operations manager of Tsogo Sun’s conferencing venues at The Pivot at Montecasino. He has been in the industry for 27 years, trained chefs within the group (including Masterchef’s Benny Masekwameng) and judged SA Chefs Association competitions. He also headed up the kitchen for MasterChef SA Season 1 winner Deena Naidoo at Aarya in SunSquare, Montecasino.
