Five Fresh and Filling Salads for a Hike in Nature – Recommended by Barbora Flavour Expert Dzintars Kristovskis

When better to organise a hike in the great outdoors than at the end of summer? September is an excellent time to enjoy walks both near and far and savour the beauty of the departing summer season, discovering the allure of Latvia’s autumnal nature before it settles into its long winter sleep. For this very reason, Dzintars Kristovskis, flavour expert and chef at the online store Barbora.lv, has compiled five fresh and filling salad recipes to suit every taste. He recommends trying them this autumn to ensure you have the energy reserves needed for a hike while discovering new and exciting flavour combinations.

Before getting started on the recipes, Dzintars Kristovskis offers several tips that will make setting off on your journey even more practical and well thought out:

·       Choose containers that seal securely and are as light as possible, especially if the food will be carried in a backpack and you have a longer stretch of road ahead;

·       If the salad has a dressing, it is best to pack it separately – salads taste better when they are not soggy.

Greek-Style Couscous Salad (5 servings)

Although the hike will most likely take place within Latvia, there is nothing to stop you from enjoying dinner in true Greek style! They say that if you enjoy this meal with your eyes closed, you can feel as though you are in an authentic Greek tavern! These light and quick-to-prepare yet filling salads are perfect for enjoying outdoors on a sunny autumn afternoon.

·       200 ml couscous

·       3 g dried oregano

·       50 ml lemon juice

·       100 ml olive oil

·       Salt and pepper to taste

·       5 g fresh mint

·       20 g parsley

·       10 g fresh coriander

·       200 g assorted olives

·       200 g feta cheese

·       500 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil

Start preparing the salad with the garnish: boil water and pour it over the couscous in a bowl so that it is completely covered with liquid. Add the lemon juice and olive oil, cover with a towel or another dish and leave to swell. Meanwhile, remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the jar, place them in a sieve and drain off all the oil. Cut half of the tomatoes into larger pieces and set aside, while blending the other half with all the drained oil until a smooth mixture forms. Stir the dried oregano into the finished mixture.

Once the couscous has swollen, fluff it with a fork and stir in 4–5 tablespoons of the blended tomato mixture (the remaining mixture can be used another time and added to other meals), then add the chopped herbs – mint, coriander and parsley. Finally, add the previously chopped tomatoes, olives and crumbled feta cheese. Mix gently, taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

New Potato Salad with Capers and Mustard Dressing (5 servings)

This simple five-ingredient salad, which is relatively quick and easy to prepare, can become a true delicacy in your hiking bag. Its sophistication lies precisely in the dressing, which gives even the most familiar ingredients a restaurant-quality flavour – one you will want to recreate on days when lunch is enjoyed at home rather than on a hike.

·       1 kg small new potatoes

·       100 g capers

·       100 g red onions

·       30 g parsley

·       200 g green beans

For the dressing:

·       60 g honey

·       60 g Dijon mustard

·       50 ml olive oil

·       3 g salt

·       20 g anchovies

·       30 ml white wine, cider or apple vinegar

·       Pepper to taste

Wash the new potatoes thoroughly and boil them. Cool the cooked potatoes and cut them in half or into quarters. Then blanch the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes and immediately cool them rapidly in cold water, drain and set aside. Peel the onions, slice them thinly, and add the capers and chopped parsley. To make the dressing, mix the honey with the mustard, olive oil, salt and chopped anchovies, adding pepper to taste at the end. The dressing can be prepared, for example, while the potatoes are boiling.

Packing is also important: each component of the meal should be placed in a separate container – the potatoes in one, the beans in another, the dressing in a third, and the onions with the capers and parsley in a fourth. Otherwise, the ingredients mentioned above will become soggy and less enjoyable. If possible, fry or otherwise heat the potatoes before eating, then mix the remaining ingredients with them to give the salad an especially aromatic aftertaste.

Orange Salad with Fennel and a Variation (5 servings)

If the hike is planned for a sunny day, these salads are the most suitable choice – they are very light and therefore especially appropriate for lunch in warmer weather, without leaving you feeling weighed down. Refreshing fennel and mint with fruit and feta cheese – a combination everyone should try this autumn.

·       2 fresh fennel bulbs

·       20 almond flakes

·       3 oranges

·       10 g mint

·       50 g rocket

·       50 ml olive oil

·       20 ml apple vinegar

·       40 g red onions

For the variation:

·       150 g feta cheese

·       400 g watermelon

Cut the fennel in half, remove part of the hard root and finely grate the remaining part on a vegetable grater. To make it crunchier, place it in ice-cold water until it is time to take the salad with you. Toast the almond flakes. Mix the washed rocket with the mint leaves. Remove the peel from the oranges, cut out the pith and slice them thinly. Slice the onions thinly as well. To make the dressing, mix the vinegar with the olive oil. For the variation, crumble the feta cheese and cut the watermelon into smaller pieces.

Take the prepared ingredients with you in separate containers. Before eating, arrange the salad in layers: place the orange, fennel, onions and greens at the bottom of the container, sprinkle with almond flakes and pour over the dressing. For the variation, replace the orange with watermelon and add feta cheese.

Pasta Salad with Prawns and More (5 servings)

A salad that works both as a snack during a hike and as a full lunch at the end of it. It is an excellent choice for lovers of both seafood and spicy flavours who want to refresh their familiar everyday meals with new and exciting flavour combinations.

·       200 g pasta

·       300 g prawns and/or any other seafood

·       50 g red onions

·       100 g sweetcorn

·       250 g colourful cherry tomatoes

·       70 g mayonnaise

·       Black pepper to taste

·       Juice and zest of 1 lime

·       20 g coriander

·       20 g green chilli

Cook the pasta to the degree of doneness you prefer. While the pasta is cooking, fry the prawns and any other seafood if using. Drain the sweetcorn, halve the tomatoes, and chop the coriander and chilli. Make the dressing by adding the lime zest and juice and the black pepper to the mayonnaise.

Broccoli Salad with Bacon (5 servings)

A healthy and delicious salad that anyone can prepare, regardless of their culinary skills. Broccoli salad with bacon can be prepared in just 15 minutes and is an ideal meal to enjoy outdoors, treating yourself at the end of a hike.

·       2 broccoli heads

·       10 slices of bacon

·       150 g mayonnaise

·       30 g sunflower seeds

·       50 g raisins

·       70 g Cheddar cheese

·       50 g red onion

Start with the broccoli: cut it into florets, place them in boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes. Then cool them rapidly in ice-cold water and drain. Fry the bacon in a pan or, for an especially crispy result, cook it in the oven. Toast the sunflower seeds. For more interesting flavour nuances, the raisins can be soaked in rum or whisky. Grate or dice the Cheddar cheese and slice the onions thinly. Mix all the prepared ingredients with the mayonnaise.

The products used in the salad recipes can be purchased throughout Latvia from the Barbora.lv online store, with convenient delivery to your doorstep or the nearest Maxima store.