Five summer salads to start the New Year right

Posted on 2 January, 2024

Ate your own body weight in Christmas ham? I hear ya.

And really, why should we stop now? I mean, it would be so easy to just keep on gorging all summer long. But c’mon! We’re better than that.

So before you open the UberEats app, check out these five summer salads. They’re delicious, easy to make, and there’s one for each day of the working week.

The Perfect Nicoise Salad

Forget Caesar salad, Nicoise is way better. You can hardly even call it salad cause it tastes too good. I like to swap normal eggs for quail eggs and tuna for smoked trout. Drizzle over some truffle oil vinaigrette and throw in some toasted almonds and boom!

Prep time 20 mins | Cook time 10 mins | Total time 30 mins

Ingredients

• 50g smoked trout
• 4 quail eggs, boiled
• A handful of rocket leaves
• 4 vine-ripened baby tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

Truffle oil vinaigrette

• ½ tsp white truffle oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp fresh finely chopped tarragon
• Generous pinch freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Method

1. Prepare the salad ingredients, then toast the almonds by cooking in a frypan over medium heat, stirring often to avoid burning, until golden (about 4 minutes). Remove and let cool on paper towel. 2. Boil the quail eggs over a low boil for 3 minutes, then run under cold water and leave for 5-­10 mins before peeling.
3. Assemble salad, including quail eggs, halved. Mix all truffle oil vinaigrette ingredients together well and drizzle over salad, scattering with slivered almonds to serve.

Haloumi, Pomegranate and Pine Nut Salad

Ok, so this is more like cheese with some salad attached. But there are still lots of salady bits involved. If you’re feeling super healthy and virtuous, you can always just up the grilled veggies and dial back the cheese. Bwahahahaha! J.K. That’s nuts.

Prep time 10 mins | Cook time 10 mins | Total time 20 mins

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 180g halloumi block, cut to 1cm thick slices and then sliced diagonally
• 1 eggplant, sliced thinly ½ green capsicum, sliced into thin squares
• ½ red or orange capsicum, sliced into thin squares
• ½ zucchini, sliced into thin ribbons
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup of pine nuts,
• toasted lemon wedge to garnish

Dressing

• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Method

1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frypan over medium heat, moving around regularly for about 5 mins or until golden.
2. Cook the eggplant, zucchini and capsicum on a griddle pan with a little olive oil til golden brown and a little charred (around 3 mins per side).
3. Pan-fry the halloumi in a little olive oil over medium heat until golden brown (about 3 mins each side). 4. Mix all the salad dressing ingredients together and shake well to combine. 5. Assemble your salad in layers with the Haloumi on top of the vegetables. Drizzle some dressing over the top and scatter with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and parsley before serving with a wedge of fresh lemon.

Saffron, Date and Olive Couscous 

This one is great for summer, cause it ain’t rabbit food but it’s still really fresh tasting.

Pearl couscous has this great texture that’s really different to normal couscous—and the saltiness of the olives, hint of spice from the saffron and sweetness from the dates makes for a massive mouthful of yum.

Prep time 10 mins | Cook time 15 mins | Total time 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearl couscous
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted and finely diced
• ½ cup green olives, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 saffron strands
• ½ cup warm water (soak 2 saffron strands in the water for 30 mins before cooking)
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• Lemon wedges to serve

Method

1. Cook the couscous in olive oil over medium heat until golden, moving around the pan regularly to stop from burning (about 4 mins). Add the stock and saffron water and simmer on low for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

2. Meanwhile, toast your pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat, moving around regularly for around 5 mins or until golden brown.

3. Spread couscous out on a baking sheet to cool (about 10 mins). Once cooled, toss with dates, green olives, pine nuts and parsley, reserving some parsley for the top. Serve with a lemon wedge.

 Candied Macadamia Waldorf

This one is good cause it’s super easy, but the addition of the macadamias gives it loads more personality than you’re average Waldorf.

The macadamias pair really nicely with the apple and the whole thing has a lovely salty-sweet flavour and fresh, crunchy texture.

Prep time 5 mins | Cook time 5 mins | Total time 10 mins

Ingredients

• Baby cos lettuce leaves
• 1 green apple, thinly sliced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• ½ cup macadamia nuts
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Dressing

• 1 tsp a lemon
• 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and put your macadamia nuts in. Sprinkle some brown sugar over the top. Cook for around 5 minutes or until nuts are golden and sugar is dissolving. Set aside to cool.

2. Put salad ingredients together and mix all dressing ingredients.

3. Scatter macadamia nuts over the salad and drizzle sparingly with dressing.

Greek(ish) Salad with Honey Whipped Feta

Greek salad is delicious, but sometimes I feel like it’s too salty. So I like to change it up a little (well, a lot) by using Sicilian olives instead of Kalamata, roasting the tomatoes so they get nice and sweet, and topping it all off with THE most delicious thing ever—honey-whipped feta.

Umm, hello! Why haven’t I just been eating this stuff on toast for breakfast for like, forever?

Prep time 5 mins | Cook time 15 mins | Total time 20 mins

Ingredients

• 150g Danish feta
• 50ml light sour cream
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 small, vine-­ripened tomatoes
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp semi-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• Baby cos lettuce leaves
• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
• A handful of Sicilian olives

Dressing

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp dried oregano leaves
• ¼ tsp garlic powder

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170C and put the tomatoes in a baking dish with a dash of olive oil and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Bake for 10­15 minutes until starting to become soft and caramelised but not mushy. Set aside to cool. 2. Meanwhile, put feta and sour cream in a food processor and blitz until well combined. Add honey and olive oil and blend until smooth. Remove and set aside.
3. Put the salad together, including the roasted tomatoes. Mix all dressing ingredients together and drizzle over the salad, topping off with the honey whipped feta.