Genius Recipes
‘The Best Salad You've Ever Eaten in Your Life’
In this Genius Recipe, Nadiya Hussain proves we have to stop throwing out this ingredient.
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34 Comments
ted V.
June 27, 2023
FINALLY made this after sitting in my Recipes folder far too long. So good!! Did anyone notice the matching colors? Kiwi seeds and black sesame seeds, obviously; greens of kiwi and cucumber/dill; white of the kiwi core and feta, and my favorite, tahini and kiwi skin! Can't be a coincidence...Happy Summer!!
doughtywench
July 25, 2022
This sounded so good I had to make it, even though I only had half the ingredients on hand. Okay, I made the dressing. I put it on peaches, which I ate for breakfast. They were delicious. Today, I'll try it on strawberries.
Paul M.
July 21, 2022
Okay... I always wanted to try the skin of a kiwi, and that salad is the BOMB of a recipe!!! The only thing better was the suggestion to stab a kiwi with a stick and freeze it (sounds like the makings of a cool treat on a hot July evening on the porch... imagine : frozen kiwi and frozen watermelon together... and on a stick!)
Karolyn S.
July 20, 2022
I'm neither here, nor there on the actual salad - it was OK, didn't hit all my happy buttons. What inspired me to comment is the lead in on throwing the skin away. Why would anyone be throwing away vegetable and fruit scraps instead of composting? And composting with minimal effort and expense is entirely possible for urban dwellers. Sigh
Heather S.
July 21, 2022
I am with you, Karolyn. Thank you for mentioning it. We need to make composting a priority so that it becomes second nature for everyone.
witloof
January 12, 2022
I've been eating unpeeled organic kiwis for years, but I absolutely draw the line at eating banana peels.
kathryn J.
August 1, 2021
This was intriguing and decidedly worth a try. When I make it again I will half the dressing ingredients: The salad was swimming it the stuff. I followed the instructions to make the dressing in the bowl but wish I'd made it separately so I could have added less. I'll probably omit the honey as well, but I liked the za'atar/tahini vibe.
ultramarina
July 31, 2021
I made this salad a few days ago and followed the recipe to the t but halved the amount. The first few bites were surprising and tasty. The kiwi skin didn't bother me and my husband at all and it felt like eating a green tomato salad. But the more I ate the more I wanted this culinary experiment to be over. There was still plenty left in the salad bowl and my husband and we could not bring ourselves to eat it up. After dinner I felt sick. The sheer thought to eat this salad again gave me shivers.
I don't know why, maybe it's the red onion or the amount of salad sauce (too much for the amount of kiwi), maybe the feta? Also the more I think about this salad, the more I feel that certain ingredients in the sauce don't make sense. What is the tahini for, or the za'atar, what do they add to the taste?
This salad is, what I call a mishmash in the Ottolenghi style. Don't be blinded by it's beauty because the inner values don't match at all.
I don't know why, maybe it's the red onion or the amount of salad sauce (too much for the amount of kiwi), maybe the feta? Also the more I think about this salad, the more I feel that certain ingredients in the sauce don't make sense. What is the tahini for, or the za'atar, what do they add to the taste?
This salad is, what I call a mishmash in the Ottolenghi style. Don't be blinded by it's beauty because the inner values don't match at all.
Janis O.
July 21, 2021
Alas! I’m allergic to kiwi fruit. Everything else sounds delish, so maybe I need to make this without the star ingredient. Watermelon might be good….
Renae
July 19, 2021
So, add the kiwi in the same step the cucumber is added?
Kristen M.
August 5, 2021
The full recipe is here—technically they're mentioned in two different steps, but it doesn't really matter in this salad: https://food52.com/recipes/86030-kiwi-feta-salad-recipe-from-nadiya-hussain
Janelee
July 18, 2021
Hi, hoping you can help me. I think I would love this salad but I can’t find the recipe…just the video…can you please Tell me where to locate…thanks so much….
Kristen M.
August 5, 2021
Right here! Tough to find but it's the "View Recipe" button near the bottom: https://food52.com/recipes/86030-kiwi-feta-salad-recipe-from-nadiya-hussain
brandyk
July 16, 2021
I liked the salad but felt the dressing was too much. I think it needs less tahini and less honey. Tasted VERY sweet. Also my kiwis were not very hairy. Maybe I got a different variety as it also had yellow flesh. If I make it again, I will tweak it with dressing on the side.
Kristen M.
August 5, 2021
It sounds like you used a sweeter, less furry variety of kiwi so tweaking the sweetness is a great plan next time.
Hollis R.
July 16, 2021
The last time I ate a kiwi, in 1991, was with the skin. And it made my eyeballs itch! That wasn’t an experience I wanted again, so I blamed it on the skin. Perhaps I should’ve blamed it on whatever the skin was sprayed with, I’m now thinking. This dressing sounds heavenly — I’m addicted to za’atar — and the salad ingredients are right up my alley. (Although for much of my life I despised feta, even referring to it as fetid! Nowadays it’s the star ingredient in my Baked Greek Salad.)
Catu13
July 18, 2021
It’s not uncommon for people who are allergic to pollens to have a reaction to kiwi, especially a localized reaction to the mouth, tongue, face. ❤️
robinorig
July 19, 2021
I developed a severe allergy to kiwi out of nowhere in my late twenties. I have to now carry an would I just in case because my throat cliffs in if I even get one seed or one drop of juice or flesh. I have to be careful about eating fruit salad or even garnished plates out. I even encountered a dessert where the raspberry sauce was "enhanced" with kiwi with no mention on the menu. Since then I've heard that many people are allergic. If you already get a mild reaction, you should probably stop eating them as it can build to a much worse allergy. The protein in it is related also to latex and bananas.
judy
July 15, 2021
I started eating the skin of kiwis a few years ago, as long as the fruit is organic. Read an article suggesting that we do so. Bit of an odd texture, but read that it significantly improves the nutritional value of the fruit if the skin is eaten. Now I hardly notice the skin. Kiwis are a very nice fruit.
Andrew W.
July 15, 2021
Re: Is zucchini a fruit? - This is one of those situations where two definitions of a word butt up against each other. There's the scientific definition of a fruit (the part with the seeds in it) and the colloquial definition of fruit (the sweet foods from plants). Under the scientific definition many of the foods we colloquially call vegetables are actually fruits - tomatoes and zucchini (as you mentioned), but also peppers, beans and legumes (also, tree nuts).
So our "true" vegetables are the ones from other parts of the plant: root vegetables, alliums (onions & garlic) which are essentially a stem, and cabbages which are technically herbs that are prevented from sprouting flowers (broccoli is actually a bunch of tiny cabbage flower heads grown in cold weather to prevent blooming (or "bolting" in horticultural parlance)).
So our "true" vegetables are the ones from other parts of the plant: root vegetables, alliums (onions & garlic) which are essentially a stem, and cabbages which are technically herbs that are prevented from sprouting flowers (broccoli is actually a bunch of tiny cabbage flower heads grown in cold weather to prevent blooming (or "bolting" in horticultural parlance)).
Kristen M.
August 5, 2021
Thanks, Andrew! Love that it's basically a vegetable "because we said so."
Patricia F.
July 14, 2021
Have to admit, I really don't like the skin of regular kiwis. However, yellow or golden kiwis are not hairy and delicious with the skin!
Melissa W.
July 14, 2021
Definitely looking forward to making this - I come from Kiwiland and grew up eating the skin (who had time to peel them??). Also loving the idea of freezing them and trying them with the kids. Great ideas.
Jo S.
July 14, 2021
Hi there I love your videos! I am from the land of the kiwifruit - thats what we call them here. We always ate them with the skin on when I was younger as they grew all over our neighbourhood, but now I get them from the store and I ALWAYS peel because of the sprays used on them :( We use them sliced to decorate pavlovas either with or without strawberries too. They are known to tenderise chicken before cooking! Don't cook them with the chicken or the chicken may disintegrate! Chicken is nice served with round slices on it too. Also the BEST drink ever ...dice 1 kiwifruit (yes peeled) and half of a large banana and add with half a cup of water to a blender & blitz! Add more or less water to your liking. This is a flavour sensation you will love! I did this for breakfast for years & used the other half of the banana for another drink after work. It gives you amazing energy & people always commented on my complexion! - I never got those comments before I started drinking it every day. Sorry this is so long! Hopefully you can go on a wider exploration with kiwifruit!
Geoff K.
July 14, 2021
I am breaking my strict no-comment policy to say that is the greatest podcast title in the history of fruit-based puns.
Morgan R.
July 14, 2021
When I first saw a Kiwi I had no idea how to eat it. And tried eating like an apple, pear or peach. I spit it right out. The skin is a total no go for me.
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