Jamie Oliver's Rainbow Salad with Sesame Feta Fritters

Filling and delicious, this grated vegetable rainbow salad with cosucous and sesame feta fritters is a healthy midweek meal recipe. The cheesy slightly sweet but salty fritters are so moreish!

Healthy eating for the new year rarely begins for me on New Year's Day. It's often the day after when I start an attempt at being more healthy. This year was no different. Visiting friends and eating takeaway pizza was what we did on New Year's day, just after eating Chinese takeaway with friends on New Year's Eve. So after 2 days of takeaways and a week or two of heavy food we definitely needed this salad.

This rainbow salad is actually the first recipe in Save with Jamie and the first recipe I decided to make when looking through my new cookbooks. Unlike Jamie, I mixed up all the grated vegetables together rather than leaving them in separate mounds on a big serving dish.

I also missed out the beetroot as my lovely husband would have then claimed the meal to have been spoilt. I considered grating a little just for me but decided I would avoid the mess and the pink stained hands.

The rainbow vegetable salad doesn't have any really strong flavours but it was a really nice salad and the sesame feta fritters were some of the tastiest I've ever made. The sweetness of the honey goes really well with the feta in the fritters and then the sharpness of the vinegar in the dressing really finishes off the dish.

Ingredient notes for rainbow salad with sesame feta fritters

Do check out the full recipe further down the page but basically to make this dish you'll need:

• Couscous - I used wholemeal couscous and hydrated it with stock. You could use a pouch of couscous though.
• Vegetable bouillon powder - This is to hydrate the couscous. Feel free to use a stock cube or even water plus spices.
• Pitta bread - I made croutons using a pitta bread. You could replace the pitta with a different kind of bread through. Ciabatta croutons for example would also be lovely in this. The croutons add a lovely crunch but you could miss them out for a lower carb and lighter option. Or, you could even just serve bread on the side for whoever wants it.
• Olive oil
• Vegetables - I used carrot, red onion, and cucumber. You could add red or white cabbage though or beetroot, as in the original recipe.
• Vinegar - Feel free to use red or white wine vinegar or even cider vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil - I always use a good olive oil for the salad dressing.
• Dried oregano - If you have fresh herbs, feel free to use them instead.
• Feta cheese
• Egg
• Self-raising flour - If you don't have self-raising flour, use plain flour with a pinch of baking powder.
• Milk - You only need a little bit so can use diary milk or any plant-based alternative
• Pinch black pepper
• Sesame seeds
• Runny honey

How to make this rainbow vegetable salad and sesame fritters recipe

Do check out the recipe card further down the post too.

First just make the couscous according the to the pack instructions. Also cut the bread into pieces and coat in the oil. Either bake it in the oven or air fry till dry and crispy. Then prepare the salad vegetables and stir in the salad dressing ingredients.

For the sesame fritters, beat the egg and then use a fork to mash the feta into the beaten egg. Then add the flour and a little milk and continute to mash till all the flour is incorporated and you have a thick paste. Season well and heat some oil in a frying pan.

Take spoonfuls of the mixture and put in the frying pan. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. After a couple of minutes, turn the fritters over and drizzle over a little honey. Cook for a couple of minutes longer then take out of the pan.

Serve the couscous topped with the salad, the croutons and the fritters.

Can you eat the leftovers of this rainbow salad the next day?

I find this recipe makes enough for three meals so I usually eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. The fritters are still delicious. You can reheat them in the oven for 4 minutes or eat them cold and the grated vegetables keep very well in the fridge.

It is best to store the croutons separately though as they can go soggy if stored with the salad.

Can you Adapt this Rainbow Salad?

If you want you can of course vary the rainbow vegetables and add extra vegetables too. I often add slices of tomato and a sprinkling of sweetcorn. You could add some finely sliced red or green cabbage too.

So far I haven't ever adapted the fritters in any way. I think they are perfect just as they are although if you do want to make them a bit herby then you could add a little chopped parsley. If you do then let me know as I'd love to know how they turn out.

Recipe

Grated Rainbow Vegetable Salad with Sesame Fritters

Corina Blum

This delicious grated rainbow vegetable salad makes a super yummy meal, especially with the delicious sweet and salty sesame fritters.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine International

Servings 3

Calories 686 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 190 g couscous
• ½ teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
• 1 pitta bread
• 1-2 teaspoon olive oil
• 200 g carrot
• ½ red onion
• 200 g cucumber
• 2 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 100 g feta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoon self-raising flour
• A little milk
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon runny honey

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Add the bouillon powder to the couscous.  Cover with boiling water and leave to stand in a covered bowl.   After 10 minutes fluff up with a fork to separate the grains and leave to cool.
• Slice the pitta bread thinly. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven at 180℃ for about 10 minutes until golden and crunchy. Or bake in the air fryer for about 6 minutes.
• Grate the carrot, onion and cucumber either using a box grater or a food processor.  Mix in the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and oregano.
• Beat the egg and then add the crumbled feta cheese. Add the flour and mash together. Add a drop of milk at a time until you have a thick paste. Season with black pepper.
• Add a little olive oil to a frying pan. When it's hot, add the fritter mixture using a teaspoon - It makes about 12. Cook for about 1.5 minutes then sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top and turn the fritters over. Drizzle the honey over the top of all the fritters and cook for another 1-2 minutes. I also turned them over again for about 20 seconds just before removing from the pan.
• Serve by putting the couscous on the plates. Put the salad on top and the dressing will also then soak into the couscous. Top with the fritters and the pitta bread pieces.

Video

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and a guideline only

Nutrition

Calories: 686kcalCarbohydrates: 82gProtein: 19gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 635mgPotassium: 513mgFiber: 6gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 11405IUVitamin C: 7.4mgCalcium: 269mgIron: 2.4mg

Keyword rainbow salad, sesame feta fritters

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More Salad Recipes

If you like this salad then do check out my main meal salads recipe collection or one of these salads:

• Couscous beetroot and feta salad
• Cannellini bean and tuna salad
• Harissa chicken salad

Or how about Jamie Oliver's piri piri chicken? You might also like my sweetcorn fritters.

Keep in touch

Do let me know if you try this grated rainbow salad and sesame feta fritters. I love to get feedback from readers.

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