I’m sure we’ve all seen people turn their noses up at the idea of eating a salad. Most of the time these people think it’s all wet lettuce leaves and chunky carrots, with a sad little squirt of oil. Well, the Big Vegan Salad is here to prove to them that salads can be awesome!

This dish is very much inspired by a vegan salad that I used to eat on the regs at the wonderful BuzzBar in Newtown, Sydney. Even though this was pre-Veganism (or PV as I like to think of it), a whole bunch of my friends used to deify this salad for its ability to fill you up and also for its amazing restorative properties after a hard night on the lash. We also used to follow it up with a hot brownie with ice cream, but that’s a recipe for another day.

I’ve eaten this salad 3 days in a row now, and there’s always a glass bottle full of the balsamic dressing in my fridge in case of salad emergency. This will change your salading ways, my friends!

You’ll need:
(Feed 2)
4 large lettuce leaves, washed
4 new potatoes, boiled, drained, salted and chopped into quarters, then salted
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped
1 large yellow pepper, sliced
a few radishes, sliced
1/2 a medium carrot, cut into long strips with a peeler
1/2 cup – 1 cup hummus
a handful of chickpeas, cooked/drained
salt
pepper
For the dressing:
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
2 tbsps white vinegar / apple cider vinegar
1 tsbp grainular / old English mustard
1 tbsp agave nectar / honey if you’re not vegan
1/4 cup good quality oil
2 cloves garlic
salt
pepper

Method:
Arrange 2 lettuce leaves on each plate, and scatter the potatoes on top
Arrange the cucumber slices, tomato slices and yellow pepper slices however you like on top. I like to arrange them in a circular pattern as shown in the photo (the first bite is with the eye!)
With any leftover slices and the carrot strips, create a pile in the centre of your plate
Top this pile with as much hummus as you’d like, then scatter the chickpeas on top of the hummus
Scatter the radish slices on the plate and season everything as desired
Blend together the vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sweetener, mustard, oil, garlic and seasoning until it is emulsified; just a few seconds should do
Drizzle the dressing over the plate and serve!

It really is as simple as that; pre boil your potatoes and this is a super quick meal. It’s filing enough to be dinner without making you feel too stuffed late at night, and as a lunch this will super charge you through the rest of your work day. It is truly amazing!

Oh, and did I mention that it’s crazy healthy too? No? Well I am now: guilt free.

Top Tip: You can also caramelise some red onions in balsamic vinegar until they’re crispy and lay these on top of your hummus; I do this when I’m trying to be extra fancy, and it looks (and tastes) wonderful!