Sauté potato Caesar salad

This low calorie Caesar dressing is a nice balance to the lightly fried potatoes in this easy side dish

Crispy sautéed potatoes, crunchy green beans and a lovely creamy dressing that tastes luxurious but isn’t loaded with calories. I think we have the makings of a wonderful summer side dish!

Caesar dressing is pretty versatile, especially when it’s a light version like this one. Of course, you can use it on a classic Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, and toss some chicken in there if you’re needing some protein. You can use it to liven up some steamed veggies (and in this case, some potatoes) and I often use it to dress a healthy, homemade coleslaw.

Green bean dip with sage + lime

Light and zingy green bean dip – perfect with crudités

This is a wonderfully light and fluffy bean dip that you can whizz up in seconds in your blender. Unlike homemade hummus, which needs a bit of work to become like that wonderful texture of dip to be found in a good Middle Eastern restaurant, the flageolet beans used in this recipe create an effortlessly creamy concoction.

Hurray for tabbouleh

Summer’s here and in our house that invariably means tabbouleh – the refreshing, herby Lebanese wheat salad that I like to serve with absolutely everything – spicy fried salmon, lemon-roasted chicken thighs, veggie patties, falafel, meatballs….. I even like a little bit on the side of my scrambled eggs in the morning.

Authentic tabbouleh is heavy on the herbs and lighter on the bulghur wheat, but you can really experiment with this dish to find out what balance you prefer. This is based on a classic recipe with of few personal twists classic recipe by adding sun-dried tomatoes and sumac.

Pile it high on a pretty plate for a summer barbeque, and watch it quickly disappear.