10 Jul ELE Salad

Language learning also starts in the kitchen! At ELE USAL Bilbao, we’re always looking for dynamic and different ways to learn. We recently enjoyed a unique immersive learning day with our “ELE Salad” activity, an experience that showed how practicing a language can also be a delicious and very healthy activity.

During this workshop, our students had the fun challenge of preparing their own salad recipes in jars. The most enriching part of the day was that the entire process—from selecting the ingredients to the final preparation—was done speaking exclusively in Spanish! It was the perfect opportunity to become more fluent in the language, learn culinary vocabulary, and work as a team in a relaxed atmosphere. An experience that undoubtedly left us all with a great feeling!

If you missed the workshop or want to replicate this healthy idea at home, here’s the official recipe to prepare your own packed lunch:

Recipe: “ELE” Jar Salad
The big secret to this salad is the order of the layers. By placing the ingredients in the correct sequence, you’ll prevent the leafy greens from wilting and everything will stay fresh and crisp. Use a clean glass jar and follow this order from bottom to top:

• Layer 1 (the dressing): Always place the dressing at the bottom of the jar (for example: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper).
• Layer 2 (the barrier ingredients): Add the firm foods that can be in contact with the dressing without losing texture, such as cooked chickpeas, grated carrot, cucumber, or whole cherry tomatoes.
• Layer 3 (protein and carbohydrates): Add diced chicken breast, fresh cheese, tuna, or some cooked pasta or brown rice.
• Layer 4 (crunchy bits): Add sweetcorn, chopped bell peppers, or a handful of nuts (such as walnuts or sunflower seeds).
• Layer 5 (the leafy greens): Finish filling the jar with well-dried lettuce, fresh spinach, or arugula. Since they’re on top, they’ll stay perfectly fresh.

How to eat it: Close the jar tightly and store it in the refrigerator. At lunchtime, simply shake the jar vigorously to mix the dressing with all the ingredients, or pour the contents directly onto a plate and enjoy!