Dirty Salads For Healthy Appetites

For many, attempting to eat clean can mean swinging from monastic restraint to hedonism. Jump off the dietary see-saw and savour the best of both: these salads are as gluttonously satisfying as they are replete with nutritious gold. Time to turn over a new leaf

- Scarlett Wrench

If a bleeding animal burger represents the acme of “man food”, salads tend to signify the opposite. But at Men’s Health, we’re simply not having it: the idea that your menu order is in some way indicative of your character is a tired one. And yet . . . salads do still get a bad rap. They’re side dishes, compromises, your penance for overindulgence – and likely to elicit eye-rolls from any colleague already a few mouthfuls deep into a chicken burrito with extra cheese.

We’re here to tell you that this is nonsense. With a little forethought and flair, you can throw together a summer salad that’s toothsome, filling and on-point for your macro targets, too. We asked five leading chefs for mouth-watering recipes that will change your mind about salads, each bursting with flavour and freshness. Trust us, you won’t go hungry.

1. CAJUN CAULI, EGG AND TOAST

Transform your post work plate of vegetables into a decadent meal worth savouring. This colourful feast from the team at rustic eatery Brother Marcus sorts out your five a day in one hit

SERVES 4.

A cauliflower, sliced Spanish onion, ½, sliced Cajun spice, to taste Quinoa, 250g An ear of corn Limes, 2, juice and zest Coriander, large pinch, chopped Beetroot hummus, 300g Cooked beetroots, 8 Snow peas, 200g Garden peas, 200g Free-range eggs, 4, poached Rustic sourdough, 4 slices, toasted.

METHOD.