As the festive season arrives in the UK, the classic Christmas spread often relegates salad to an afterthought—a bowl of lacklustre, undressed leaves. This year, it's time for a revolution. We've curated nine exceptional summer salad recipes from renowned chefs and cookbook authors, designed to bring vibrant colour, exciting textures, and bold flavours to the heart of your holiday table.
From Simple Chopped to Warm & Savoury
These dishes range from quick assemblies to more involved preparations, each offering a unique twist. Jessica Prescott’s forever favourite chopped salad is a study in simplicity and balance, requiring fine chopping of onion, celery, capsicum, tomatoes, and olives so every forkful contains a bit of everything, dressed merely in lemon and olive oil. It keeps for up to four days, making it a perfect make-ahead option.
For those preferring warmth, José Pizarro’s warm green bean salad with crispy jamón and mahón makes a compelling case. Blanched beans absorb a cider vinegar dressing beautifully, while crispy jamón adds savoury depth. The Spanish mahón cheese can be swapped for gouda or manchego if needed.
Bold Flavours & Festive Twists
Several recipes ingeniously incorporate festive notes. Alice Zaslavsky’s strawberry and stracciatella salad pairs berries with creamy cheese, dressed with a Christmas-infused syrup of maple, orange, and star anise. The strawberries must macerate overnight for maximum impact.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s vegan beetroot pkhali is a stunning Georgian-inspired dish combining a walnut and beetroot spread with marinated beetroot wedges and an olive salsa. Ottolenghi advises starting two days ahead, as the flavours deepen wonderfully over time.
For a taste of global festivities, Rukmini Iyer’s chaat masala-spiced watermelon, tomato and cucumber salad is a refreshing, zesty option. The tangy Indian street food spice blend, chaat masala, transforms simple fruit into a cool, crunchy sensation.
Perfect for the Holiday Spread
Many of these salads are designed to complement traditional centrepieces. Meera Sodha’s roast cauliflower and kimchi couscous salad is a robust, bring-a-plate option where hummus and kimchi provide creamy and spicy blobs amongst the grains and veg.
Thomasina Miers’ Thai prawn salad with green mango and peanuts screams summer celebration, pairing prawns (opt for Australian farmed for sustainability) with crunchy green mango and rice noodles. Meanwhile, Kyu Jeong Jeon and Duncan Robertson’s asparagus salad with mashed tofu offers a subtle, nutty side that pairs excellently with festive oily fish like salmon.
Even the trend-led Tom Hunt’s green goddess salad remains a winner, its ingenious dressing made from herb stalks and asparagus ends, proving that flavour and sustainability can go hand-in-hand on the Christmas table.
This collection proves that with a bit of inspiration, salads can move from the periphery to become the most talked-about dishes of your UK Christmas feast, offering crunch, zest, and a much-needed burst of freshness amidst the rich holiday fare.
