Here is a quick and easy recipe for a fresh Turkish Salad. It is perfect to serve as a side salad with nearly any savoury dish. Place the salad on a platter, and top with your savoury meal. Try vegetable kebabs, meat balls, cooked beans or fillets of fish. Because cabbage keeps so well in the fridge, the Turkish Salad is a helpful dish for the end of the week. When other veggies have been used, your cabbage will still be fresh.
Cabbage is also one of the cheaper vegetables, enabling you to produce a tasty alternative to salad leaves without much cost. Although you may not be able to find organic white cabbage easily, it is regularly found on the ‘Clean Fifteen’ list. This is a list revealing the vegetables and fruit that are least contaminated by pesticides. Pulling off the very outer layer of a white or red cabbage helps you further reduce any pesticide traces.
This Turkish salad uses white cabbage, which contains plenty of fibre, potassium and vitamin C. If you swap to red cabbage you get a healthy serving of vitamin A and vitamin B6 as well.
Despite these wonderful benefits, it is important to note that if your thyroid is under-active, it is best to limit the cruciferous veggies. When you do use them they should be preferred cooked to raw. Research indicates that digesting these vegetables may block the thyroid’s ability to utilise iodine, which is essential for normal thyroid function. Along with cabbage, the cruciferous veg include Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, turnips, and bok choy.
The Turkish Salad can be made several hours in advance, or even the previous day – allowing the flavours to blend. You can keep it for several days in the fridge, making it great for a quick meal. Try popping it into lunch boxes, with falafel, or serve at home with warm Socca bread for a midday light-bite.
