Soy Dressing

Another amazingly easy dressing that is fantastic with noodles and salad to liven up leftovers. Stolen from a pork recipe in Donna Hay's The Instant Cook it is one of my go-to supper cheats now that summer is finally here and it's too hot to do anything that requires heat!

Soy Dressing

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp soft brown sugar

Whisk together and pour over your salad.... told you it was easy.

Vietnamese/Thai Dressing

I have always been convinced that my mother is possibly the worlds greatest cooks and one of the contributing factors (apart from her ability to get everyone to like cooked cabbage) is her genius with leftover turkey. My family all love turkey but I have a particular horror of leftovers... any leftovers. All greasy with secret bones and grisly bits they really make me sad but not so the leftover turkey in the Holmes household. My mother manages to make genuinely yummy things with anything that remains from our festive bird including an amazing Thai salad with noodles, lots of mint and the most spectacular dressing which I have only recently discovered she pinched from Nigella Bites. Joe and I have deployed it twice this week - firstly with left over pork belly in a normal salad and then with defrosted beef strips in a noodle salad.The recipe for the dressing doesn't include mint but if you are Thai-ing up leftovers then get some mint... it's the only time I can stand it apart from in Mojito's and Pimms.

Vietnamese/Thai Dressing

Makes enough for a salad for 2-4

1 red chili, seeded and minced
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp rice vinegar
1 ½ tbsp lime juice
1 ½ tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
half a medium onion finely sliced
black pepper

I use a shallot for this as that's what I usually have - can't bear to have half an onion loitering in the fridge.

1. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and put to one side for half an hour. Then deploy.

Simple Salad Dressing #2 - Zingy Balsamic Dressing

I feel a bit of a wanker calling this 'zingy' when I really mean 'balsamicy'. This is my favourite dressing and I usually try to make enough to half fill my dressing bottle so it's in the fridge ready to go any more and it can go a bit sludgy... we don't eat enough salad in this house.

Balsamic Dressing

10 tbsps olive oil
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsps grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsps caster sugar
1 tsp garlic paste
Salt and pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients together either in a blender or by hand in a jug with a whisk (which is what I do). Add salt and pepper to taste and add a bit more oil. mustard and sugar if you find the balsamic too mind
blowing.