Asian-style pickled cucumbers
This is possibly one of the simplest side dishes for Asian food I know. It’s particularly good if you have spicy or oily food and you want a side that is going to lighten and freshen everything up. It’s also great with sushi.
Warm cavolo nero, sweet potato, fennel and red cabbage salad with tahini dressing
Even though we are approaching winter, I still enjoy a salad and this is a lovely hearty winter-warming one. This cavolo nero, sweet potato and fennel salad with red cabbage and a tahini dressing is an unusual combination but it all just works. Hope you give it a go.
Roasted sweet potato, cauliflower and fennel salad with hazelnuts and feta
This is a great vegetarian salad that is substantial enough for dinner. Roasting the vegetables and serving it still warm really makes it feel more hearty too. The combination of cauliflower, sweet potatoes fennel and feta is wonderful and the hazelnuts are the perfect finisher. Great for a mid-week dinner and one you can easily change to your tastes and based on what you have in the fridge!
Cauliflower, courgette and chickpea herb salad
Another great vegetarian meal that is suitable any time of the year and is filling enough to be a main meal without any addition. Particularly with the tangy lemony yoghurt dressing, this salad hits so many notes. I love the toasted nuts, and using lots of fresh herbs. It’s not the most cost effective of salads for that reason but there again there is no meat or fish, so swings and roundabouts I guess.
Smoked mackerel, fennel, apple and beetroot salad
This salad is both light a fresh from the fennel, apple, greens and the zing of the lemon but at same time the smoked mackerel packs a punch of flavour making the salad feel meaty and substantial. I love this in the summer for dinner.
Sweet potato, chorizo and feta salad
This is one of those salads that people who don’t really like salads tend to like. In that sense it’s a crowd pleaser as it’s a great salad for salad lovers too! It’s full of goodies, salty feta, spicy chorizo, sweet potatoes, toasty pine nuts, the only real green is the baby spinach.
Seared tuna, avocado and cucumber salad
Use sashimi grade tuna for this salad and all it needs is a quick sear. This salad is light and fresh with a distinct hint of East Asian flavour.
Halloumi, chickpea and lentil salad
I’m a big halloumi fan, whenever I have it in any meal, I never miss having meat. This salad includes both lentils and chickpeas which makes it really substantial and suitable for a main meal.
Burrata, potato, cannellini bean and pesto salad
This isn’t really a salad, it’s more the chance to eat crispy fried potatoes and burrata without feeling it’s totally indulgent.
Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad
This salad is surprisingly delicious, in fact it is so good that it reinvigorated my use of cauliflower in my cooking altogether. This salad made me realise how versatile cauliflower can be and how flavoursome it is when roasted.
Griddled halloumi, courgette and peach salad
I really enjoy fruit in a savoury dish, mainly as it usually brings a lovely juiciness, this salad is no exception. The sweet juicy, tangy peaches surprisingly go really well against salty halloumi. Griddling the components of this salad add a nice charred flavour and looks nice too!
Nigella’s Forever Summer watermelon and feta salad
The ingredients in this salad may sound strange at first glance, but trust me, it is an amazing salad that you should definitely try!
Avocado salsa
This salsa is a nice side to so many dishes, in particular I like to have it alongside, chilli con carne, tacos or fish. If you chop it chunky then it’s more of a side salad than a salsa.
Griddled courgette and aubergine salad with feta and sun-dried tomatoes
Charring vegetables on a griddle pan adds loads of flavour and this combination of courgette, aubergine, tomatoes and feta is a classic! Mix it up with different herbs of your choice.
Griddled courgette and ricotta salad
This is another one of those salads with endless possible variations, so from the outset I would say, by all means substitute in other types of beans, greens or cheese, whatever you like! I do always like to add some beans or a pulse to this as I feel it makes the salad much more substantial and so keeps me satisfied.
Goats cheese salad with beetroot, walnuts and blueberries
A very versatile salad that takes no more than 10 minutes to throw together.