Five fresh and easy-to-make salads for Christmas

Looking for light dishes to balance a festive feast? These simple recipes are quick to prepare and work well as sides or light main dishes on Christmas Day.

Christmas meals are often rich and generous, centred around roast meats and indulgent sides.

Salads play an important role in balancing the table. They add freshness, colour and texture, and help cut through heavier dishes.

They also offer a lighter option that can be prepared ahead of time and served at room temperature.

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Five fresh and easy-to-make salads for Christmas

Chicken Caesar salad

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
• Olive oil spray
• 4 slices prosciutto, excess fat trimmed
• 2 (about 200g each) Coles RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillets
• 2 baby cos lettuce, trimmed, leaves separated, coarsely torn
• 1/2 cup fresh continental parsley leaves
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, quartered
• 1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
• 125ml (1/2 cup) 99% fat-free Caesar dressing

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place bread on 1 tray. Spray lightly with oil. Place prosciutto on the remaining tray. Bake, turning the bread once, for 7–8 minutes or until the bread and prosciutto are crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, spray a non-stick frying pan with oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 4–5 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly. Thinly slice.
3. Break the prosciutto into shards. Combine the bread, prosciutto, chicken, lettuce, parsley, egg and Parmesan in a serving bowl. Drizzle over the dressing.

*This recipe was sourced from taste.com.au.

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Avocado, feta, olive & melon salad

Ingredients

• 2 avocados, peeled, stoned and sliced
• 700 g watermelon, peeled and cubed
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 200 g firm feta, crumbled
• 20 black olives, pitted
• 1 bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped
• Micro greens to garnish
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Lime wedges to serve

For the dressing

• 30 ml (2 tbsp) balsamic reduction
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) avocado or olive oil

Method

1. Arrange the avocado and watermelon on individual plates or a large platter, scatter with the red onion slices, crumbled feta and olives.
2. Garnish with mint leaves, and micro greens, a grinding of pepper and drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar.
3. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

*Supplied by: Avocado.co.za

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Beet salad

Ingredients

• 3 roasted beets
• 56g of feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves sliced
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Toss all the ingredients and serve.

*This recipe was sourced from simplejoy.com.

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Warm millet sosatie salad

Ingredients

• 8 x lamb sausages
• 60ml extra virgin olive oil
• 100g red grapes
• 2 cups white millet
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1T garam masala
• 50g sliced almonds
• 100g dried apricots
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Boil the millet with 4 cups of water and salt until tender to the bite. Drain excess water.
2. Heat a pan and add olive oil. Fry the sausages until brown and cooked through.
3. Fry the grapes in the same pan until charred. In another pan, heat and add olive oil.
4. Fry the carrots and onion until soft, then add the garam masala. Fry for a few minutes until the spices become fragrant.
5. Stir in the apricots and almonds and adjust seasoning.
6. Stir in the millet.
7. Dish onto a serving platter and serve with the grapes and sausages.

*This recipe is courtesy of Studio H’s Millet Report

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Pasta salad

Ingredients

• 435g rotini or any medium pasta shape
• ⅔ cup feta cheese crumbled, more or less to taste
• 1 ½ cups English cucumber chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
• 1 cup bell pepper any color, chopped
• ¼ cup sliced black olives optional
• ¼ cup red onions finely diced, or sliced green onions
• 1 cup Italian dressing or homemade dressing in the notes
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, boil pasta in salted water until al dente (firm) according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.
2. Meanwhile, chop the cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, and red onions.
3. In a large bowl, combine your cooked and cooled pasta, prepared vegetables, Italian dressing, and fresh parsley. Toss well to coat.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and gently stir in feta cheese.
5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavours to blend and the pasta to soak in the dressing.

*This recipe was sourced from spendwithpennies.com.

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