Paleo Summer Mushroom Salad

In the lead up to the Christmas rush, who wants to spend endless hours in a hot kitchen preparing meals? Definitely not me. Besides, Summer is best celebrated by enjoying meals that are light, easy and quick to prepare. 

Eating fresh,wholesome foods is an important part of living a paleo lifestyle and we include mushrooms in our meals several times a week as they are a powerhouse of nutrition. Full of natural Vitamin D, mushrooms also contain selenium and ergothionene - antioxidants that play a role in supporting our immunity. 

Incredibly satisfying, research shows that those of us that eat mushrooms tend to eat less throughout the day when compared to people who don't eat mushrooms. They have also been shown to lower the risk of breast cancer in women and further research suggests that they may have a role in reducing the incidence of other hormonal cancers like prostate cancer. 

This salad has so many delicious ingredients and it is absolutely brimming with nutrition and goodness. The perfect balance of greens, mushrooms paired with bacon and eschalots, a little sweet potato, and good fats from walnuts make this the perfect meal. One of the great things about this salad is that the first 2 steps can be done the day before if you prefer, but are still quick and easy enough to be done on the same day if you so choose.

Really simple to make, this salad will make the perfect addition to your Summer recipes. And whilst I would love to say it makes the perfect accompaniment to a meal - Pete and I found ourselves devouring the whole salad as a main one night - It was honestly that good.

Paleo Summer Mushroom Salad

An original recipe by The Food Mentalist

ingredients

salad:

5 cups mixed seasonal salad greens of your choice ( we used a mix of kale and baby tuscan kale)

350g button mushrooms (quartered)

300g sweet potato (peeled)

1 lebanese cucumber 

2 eschalots ( finely sliced)

2 rashers of middle bacon (rind removed and cut into 2cm size pieces)

1 cup raw walnut pieces* 

cracked pepper

1 tbs butter or coconut oil

Olive oil ( to bake sweet potato)

dressing:

3 tbs olive oil

3 tbs apple cider vinegar

cracked pepper

method

1. preheat oven to 180'C and slice sweet potato into 1/2cm rounds. Place on a sheet of baking paper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the salad. 

*About 5 minutes before you take the sweet potato out of the oven - add the nuts to the same tray and allow them to roast lightly (optional).

2. Heat a little butter or coconut oil in a fry pan and add mushrooms, eschalots and bacon pieces. Add some cracked pepper and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat until the bacon is cooked and the mushrooms have soaked up all the delicious flavours in the pan. Once cooked, set aside to cool.

Next, place washed salad greens in a large bowl with the sliced cucumber and add the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with apple cider vinegar and olive oil and a generous amount of cracked pepper. Toss well to combine.

Serve as a side salad or a complete meal with a lovely glass of fresh mineral water with lemon or a glass of crisp white wine or cider.

Happy Summer!

Enjoy x

For more recipes, mushroom facts and information head to the Australian Mushroom Growers Association @ www.powerofmushrooms.com.au


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