Watermelon And Halloumi Salad
Olive
A great salad is all about contrast. The warm saltiness of the halloumi perfectly offsets the refreshing coolness of the watermelon, and the whole affair is lifted beautifully by bundles of fresh mint. Cook it.
Mixed Leaf Salad With Mozzarella, Mint, Peach & Prosciutto
Jamie Oliver
The textures at play here are dreamy: the softness of the ripe peach with the mozzarella (buffalo, if you can), all cut through by prosciutto and peppery leaves. For those who like the heat, Jamie recommends scattering some dried chilli atop the whole delicious affair. Cook it.
All-Time Favourite Chopped Salad With Honey Dressing
Anna Jones
‘This is without question the salad I make the most at home,’ says Anna Jones, by way of introducing her family’s favourite. As she explains, the chopped carrots, cucumber, radishes, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, gem lettuce, mint and basil work beautifully alone – especially when drenched in the honey dressing – but also make the perfect base for other ingredients too (think avocado, crumbly cheese, artichoke or anything else your heart so desires). Cook it.
Panzanella
Serious Eats
Panzanella – a classic of the Tuscan ‘cucina povera’ school of cookery – works beautifully as either a side dish or a main. The perfect way to use up bread that’s going over, the juices of the tomatoes, the zing of the shallots and the tartness of the white wine vinegar make this one of our all-time favourites. Cook it.
Crab Salad With Blood Orange, Fennel, Bitter Leaves And Verjus
Great British Chefs/ Skye Gyngell
For a sophisticated summer salad, look no further than Skye Gyngell’s crabmeat and blood orange concoction, which is pretty as a picture. The dressing is sweet and creamy, perfectly offsetting the bitter leaves and chervil. An ideal dinner party starter. Cook it.
Best Broccoli Salad
Love & Lemons
When George Bush was in office, he famously declared that, as President of the United States, he would no longer have to eat broccoli. After all, its lovely florets have always been divisive, with many of us deciding in childhood that we simply do not like them (see also: sprouts). But Bush obviously never tried this winner of a salad, which flies in the face of clichéd overcooked stems languishing at the side of a roast. It’s fresh, it’s crunchy (thanks to the almonds) and it’s tangy (thanks to the dressing) – plus, it’s healthy. Do try it out on broccoli naysayers like Bush; our prediction is that they will gobble it down gladly. Cook it.
Caprese Salad
Olive Magazine
Simplicity is king in the Italian kitchen, and few dishes articulate that philosophy so well as a caprese salad. Fresh, creamy and light, you can whip one up in less than five minutes. A perfect summer meal, served up with some crusty bread. Cook it.
Mango, Prawn And Avocado Salad
Taste
We have a lot of love for salads that feature fruit alongside veg (can you tell?) Mango, prawns and avocado make for a light and refreshing mix, all sweetened by the honey, given a kick by the chilli and lifted by the lime. The ideal salad to accompany a summer barbecue. Cook it.
Blackberry Goat Cheese Salad
The Modern Proper
When, in a few weeks’ time, the hedgerows begin to proffer blackberries in abundance, we’ll be making this salad over and over until we can eat no more for another year. Pistachios give it a pleasingly salty crunch, the chèvre is soft and dreamy and the honey-mustard vinaigrette balances beautifully with the peppery arugula. An absolute winner of a salad. Cook it.
Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad
Nigella
Nigella’s Anglo-Asian salad, which features lamb, mint and a fiery dressing, is as unexpected as it is divine. As she writes of its origins, ‘I love the tangy fire of Thai cooking; I love equally the traditional English partnership of lamb with redcurrant and mint. I just happened, one day, because of what I had in the kitchen, to bring the two together. Consider it an ovine reworking of those hot and sour beef salads of south east Asia. Redcurrant jelly stands in for the sweetness of jaggery or palm sugar and I use rice vinegar (always to hand in my store cupboard) instead of lime juice.’ Cook it.
Samphire And Crab Salad
BBC Good Food
Samphire, in all its salty glory, is *the* taste of the summer for anyone lucky enough to live or holiday around salt marshes. Paired with crab, it is little short of sublime. And for anyone headed to the north Norfolk coast for the summer, this recipe is a non-negotiable. Cook it.
Greek Cucumber Salad
Little Broken
Light, refreshing and creamy: this simple salad, which also features a good tang thanks to the marinated red onions, is the ideal side salad for a summer feast, and never more so than at a barbecue where the yogurt marries beautifully with grilled meat. Cook it.
By Nancy Alsop
June 2023
