It’s been a long time between salads. Given that it’s going to be 32 degrees in Melbourne today, this sort of throw-it-together salad of standard-ish fridge items seems rather appropriate. I will be eating a lot of these over the next seven weeks in the mad rush to Christmas, with Publishing House X keeping me nice and busy and family Christmas events to plan for. There’s also a little adventure booked, which sees me departing these shores on Boxing Day. As you’ve probably guessed by now, I live for little adventures!

This one is not so little. I shall be travelling back to Europe for the first time since leaving my beloved Sweden – to Milan, Amsterdam and hopefully a few days in Bath and Bristol to visit dear friends. It is very much fueling my motivation to work through each of the ‘wonderful’ maths manuscripts that I need to shovel along to Editorial before the year is out. As I format pages upon pages of equations, continue my quest as Author Hunter in search of long lost authors who have mysteriously disappeared around the time of manuscript submission, and try to navigate my way through the heady world of numbers, I daydream of ambling around Milan in my quest for quite different things: the ultimate saffron risotto, designer clothes sales galore, the best place to ski (mainly so I can don a fabulous Eurotrash hot pink ensemble) and a football match between AC Milan and Inter.

But for now I leave you with a modest little number for your Fridays. I hope it’s a lovely end to the week for you all!

Ingredients:

100 g rocket salad mix

150–180 g hot smoked salmon (this sits conveniently alongside the smoked salmon in supermarkets)

1 avocado, cut into large chunks

small block feta cheese (I used Danish feta for this one – it’s great in salads, and cheap!)

handful of cherry or mini Roma tomatoes, halved

1 can chickpeas, washed and drained

handful chopped fresh coriander or parsley

Lemon vinaigrette:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2–3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Place the washed and thoroughly dried rocket salad on a large platter or in a large salad bowl. Using a fork, shred the salmon meat off the skin and arrange over the salad.  Then add the remaining ingredients and top with the vinaigrette and herbs just before serving.

I could go on all day about the merits of chickpeas … a cheap, handy and filling protein staple. Instead of chickpeas (or additionally), you could add raw or quick-blanched asparagus spears or string beans for a bit of crunch. You could also top the salad with pine nuts, macadamia nuts or dukkah for added texture and flavour.

Buon appetito!