It is very important to eat well and healthily during the extreme heat we have been having in Italy and in the rest of Europe. It is also fundamental to keep oneself well hydrated. For this reason we would like to share with you three fresh, energising and healthy summer dishes. Our salads contain all the ingredients you will need to set you up for the day: vegetables, rice, protein, fresh and dried fruit. We also have Chiara’s suggestions on what teas are best suited to each salad for a really envigorating and complete meal.

Ginger Wild Rice Salad

Ever since the the 1950’s rice has played a focal part in Babingtons cuisine. Our Wild Ginger Rice salad is made by adding to the rice crunchy, fresh vegetables, oak smoked, lightly honey-caramelised wild salmon fillets and fresh ginger. An entire meal on one plate with fish, vegetables and of course, rice. For this recipe we use wholemeal Venus Rice.

Chiara’s suggestion of tea for this salad is Babingtons Scottish Blend. This is a blend of black teas, Assam and Ceylon, a strong tea with hints of citrus, a perfect accompaniment for salmon.

Indian Salad

India’s tea traditions are very ancient and Britain’s ties to India are deep and longstanding. Our Indian Salad scents and flavours will instantly transport you to that distant and mysterious land!

For this dish we only use basmati rice, grown in the foot-hills of the Himalayas. We start by roasting small, tender chunks of chicken then adding pieces of apple and celery, lightly crumbled or whole walnuts, as you prefer. All the ingredients are mixed cold except the chicken which is lightly seared. Finally we serve our salad with curried mayonnaise which can be added according to your tastes.

Needless to say the ideal tea to go with cold curried rice has to be an Indian tea! Chiara reccomends the Colonial Chai Babingtons, a blend of black Assam tea enriched with Indian spices. Superb!

Babingtons Colonial Chai Tea

A warm, spicy blend made by adding cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and pink pepper to a black Assam tea. A gift from India!!

Baby Leaf Spinach and Strawberry Salad

This salad is a novelty on our menu and Stilton is the absolute protagonist. Stilton is a blue cheese whose strong and distinctive taste makes for a beautiful contrast to the slightly sweet baby leaf spinach and the strawberries. All the ingredients are mixed together cold: roasted almonds, avocado, poppy seeds and Blue Stilton. We serve this with our excellent vinaigrette and of course Chiara has the right tea to accompany this salad. In this case she recommends a good iced tea, our Babingtons Red Rhubarb. This is a very slightly bitter tea with strong flavours which blend beautifully with cheese.

Babingtons Red Rhubarb for Iced Tea

This is a blend of black Darjeeling tea enriched with hibiscus and rhubarb. A very refreshing and thirst quenching tea created especially to serve iced.