4 Tasty Salad Recipes to See You Through The Winter

Think salads are just for summer evenings? Then think again. Throw together some leaves, seasonal ingredients and warming flavours and you’ve got yourself a beautiful, nutritious winter meal.

Roasted Butternut, Stilton and Toasted Pecan Salad with Maple Dressing

There are a lot of contrasts in this salad - crunchy and creamy, sweet and savoury, hot and cold… and it only takes just over half an hour to put it together. Don’t skip the maple dressing - it works beautifully with the cheese and the roasted butternut pieces. Serves 2.

Ingredients
For the salad:
a handful of pecan nuts
half a small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into approx 2cm chunks
pinch of salt
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 large handfuls of rocket leaves
1 thick slice Stilton cheese

For the dressing:
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp white wine vinegar
pinch of salt

Method
First, heat the oven up to gas mark 6/200ºC and line a baking sheet with foil. Scatter over the pecan nuts and slide into the hot oven for 2-3 minutes, until they smell toasty and begin to turn a deeper colour. Take them out and tip them onto a saucer.

Straight away, tumble the butternut pieces onto the tray and drizzle with olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and roast for 30 minutes, until the squash pieces are tender and beginning to caramelise at the edges.

While the butternut is cooking, whisk the dressing ingredients together and arrange the rocket leaves over two plates. Once the squash is cooked, divide it between the plates and crumble the Stilton over the top, with the pecan nuts. Finish by drizzling over the dressing.

Lamb, Pomegranate and Cauliflower Rice Salad with Fruity Pomegranate Dressing

This is a great salad to make to use up any leftover roasted lamb. And cauliflower rice is a nutritious, grain-free alternative to rice or couscous whether you’re on a special diet or just fancy a change. Serves 2.

Ingredients
For the salad:
100g cauliflower, leaves removed and cut roughly into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
pinch of salt
4-5 tbsp pomegranate seeds
couple of handfuls of leftover roast lamb
2-3 large handfuls rocket leaves

For the dressing:
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt

Method
Blitz the cauliflower in a food processor (or chop it finely by hand). It’ll look like fine grains. Heat a frying pan with the tablespoon of olive oil and add the blitzed cauliflower, along with the chopped spring onion, parsley and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and hot and starting to turn slightly toasted. Turn off the heat and sprinkle in the pomegranate seeds.

Arrange the rocket leaves over two plates. Divide the hot cauliflower rice over the top and then flake over the cooked lamb. Quickly whisk the pomegranate molasses and olive oil together and pour this over the salads, finishing with more pomegranate seeds if you like.

Crispy Salmon and Spinach Salad with Sweet Chilli and Lime Dressing

Salmon fillets taste great with sweet chilli sauce. Here, we’ve crisped them up in the pan and paired them up with some spinach leaves and a chilli and lime dressing. Serves 2.

Ingredients
2 salmon fillets, boneless, with the skin on
1 tsp olive oil
2-3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
1 spring onion, chopped
fresh coriander leaves, to serve

For the dressing:
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime

Method
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the salmon fillets on a medium heat, skin-side down, until you start to see the fish turning opaque through the middle - about 3-4 minutes. Turn over and fry on the other side for a few minutes, until cooked through. If you want to, in the last few minutes of cooking, you can break the salmon up a little and fry in the pan to crispen it up.

Arrange the spinach leaves in two shallow bowls. Whisk the ingredients together for the dressing and taste - you want the lime flavour to be balanced with the sweet chilli.

Once the salmon is cooked to your liking, flake it over the spinach and scatter over the spring onion. Finish with the dressing and a handful of coriander leaves sprinkled over the top.

Warm Chorizo, Scallop and Pea Shoot Salad with Sherry Vinegar Dressing

With soft seafood and spicy chorizo sausage, this salad will bring back memories of summer. Scallops are in season right now. Serves 2.

Ingredients
For the salad:
100g cooking chorizo
1 tsp olive oil
180g fresh, roeless scallops
75g bag of pea shoots
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

For the dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
pinch of salt

Method
Cut the chorizo into slices and fry in the olive oil until golden, aromatic and cooked through. Tip out onto a plate and wipe the pan with a piece of kitchen paper. Add a little more olive oil if you need it, and fry the scallops for 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked through and tender. Turn off the heat.

Scatter the pea shoots over two plates and divide the cooked chorizo slices over the top. Add the cooked scallops and sprinkle over the parsley. Straight away, while everything is hot, quickly mix together the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle it over. Eat while everything’s still warm.

Do you eat salads in the winter? What are your favourites?

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