Winter store cupboard salads

VfL Roving Chef, Alex shares ideas for healthy winter salads that add sunshine to your day. Try his sensational salad recipes, below.

I was born in the late 1960s – as a child, my salads would all too often be plain. But times, and tastes, have changed and with a few twists salads make a colourful, tasty and nutritious main meal – even in winter. What if you fancy a salad that doesn't rely on traditional fresh salad vegetables? Is it possible to have a store cupboard salad instead?

Ideal store cupboard salad ingredients

• Rice, pasta and noodles are all good bulking ingredients.
• Tinned beans, such as butter beans, green lentils, flageolet beans or kidney beans are all excellent sources of protein. Always rinse and drain them thoroughly first.
• Nuts, including salted peanuts, walnuts, Brazils, and almonds, add protein, flavour and texture.
• Tofu is great in salads; I prefer ready-pressed and flavoured varieties available from most supermarkets. Unflavoured varieties, although edible, can be very soft and improve with cooking – for convenience, go for ready-flavoured types.
• Tinned and jarred vegetables sometimes get a bad rap for being unhealthy. But if you avoid heavily salted varieties, they can be nutritious and one of your 5 a day. Try potatoes, asparagus, sweetcorn, artichokes or green beans, and even crispy or pickled onions. However, for me, tinned carrots have no place.
• Some fresh salad, such as tomatoes and peppers, will home-freeze, so you can use them when you want. They will be a little soft when they thaw, but work as a standby

I've given a few suggestions below – add any fresh vegetables or fruit that you like. I have kept these salads simple, but mix and match to suit your preferences. I have included salad dressings, but if you have a favourite shop-bought or homemade dressing, go for it.

Spicy chickpea and roasted pepper salad

Serves 2

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• ½ jar drained roasted peppers, sliced into strips

Dressing

• 1 tsp harissa paste
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp sugar

1. Place your salad ingredients into a serving dish.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients and spoon over your salad.
3. If you want something less spicy omit the harissa paste.

Potato salad

Serves 2

• 1 tin potatoes, drained
• 1 small onion, chopped

Dressing

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• ¼ tsp dried dill

1. Roughly chop the potatoes and mix in the onion.
2. Fold-in the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle on the dried dill and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Mixed bean salad

Serves 2

• 1 tin mixed beans, drained
• 1 tbsp capers
• Pinch chilli powder

Dressing

• 1 tsp olive oil

1. Mix all of the ingredients together. Dress with the olive oil.

Pasta and lentil salad

(Serve hot or cold)

Serves 2

• 50g pasta shapes – whatever you have in will work fine
• 1 tin green lentils, drained
• ½ jar of roasted peppers (the leftover half-jar from the recipe above)
• ¼ tsp garlic purée (this can be bought ready puréed)

Dressing

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp mustard

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Drain and allow to cool.
2. Add the lentils and peppers.
3. Mix the dressing and add to the pasta.

Noodle, pressed tofu and peanut salad

(Serve hot or cold)

Serves 2

• 50g noodles
• 100g flavoured pressed tofu (ready-to-eat variety)
• 50g soya beans (use cooked or canned; raw soya beans are not safe to eat)
• 20g peanuts, chopped

Dressing

• 1 tsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp sweet chili sauce
• ½ tsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and drain thoroughly.
2. Cut the tofu into chunks and add to the noodles and the soya beans.
3. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and spoon over the noodles.
4. Finally, sprinkle on the peanuts.