I am not a salad person by default. I am a pan con tomate person, a porridge person, a long Sunday lunch person. But these three salads have earned a permanent place in our kitchen because they are genuinely delicious, genuinely beautiful and genuinely easy.
They are the kind of salads you bring to a dinner and people ask for the recipe. The kind that make a Tuesday feel like a occasion. Save them, you will come back to them.
1. The Kale, Roasted Squash & Pomegranate Salad
This is the one that always disappears first and that will transform any salad reticent people.
Ingredients:
- Kale, sliced very finely
- Roasted butternut squash, cut small
- Dried cranberries
- Pecan nuts
- Feta cheese
- Pomegranate seeds and/or apple finely sliced for crunch and acidity
For the dressing:
- Dijon mustard
- Maple syrup
- Olive oil
- A squeeze of lemon
- Salt and pepper
The key to this salad is cutting the kale very finely : it changes the texture completely, making it tender rather than tough. Massage it lightly with a little olive oil before adding the other ingredients. The maple mustard dressing is the secret weapon. It’s sweet, sharp and completely addictive.
This salad travels well, keeps for a day in the fridge and works as a main or a side. It is one of the most requested recipes in our home.
2. The Fennel, Orange & Pistachio Salad
This one is elegant simplicity at its best.
Ingredients:
- Fennel, shaved very thin
- Orange segments
- Pistachios
- Fresh herbs (mint or flat-leaf parsley)
For the dressing:
- Fresh lemon juice
- Good olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Shave the fennel as thinly as possible. A mandoline is ideal (watch out for your fingers though) but a sharp knife works perfectly. The combination of anise, citrus, and the gentle crunch of pistachios is one of those flavor combinations that feels simultaneously simple and sophisticated.
This is the salad I make when the main course is doing all the work — a seven-hour leg of lamb, slow-cooked pork ribs, something rich and generous that has been in the oven all afternoon. The fennel and orange cut through the richness beautifully and the whole table feels balanced. It is consistently one of the most beautiful things on the table.
3. The Bitter Leaf, Saint-Marcellin & Apricot Salad
This is the most French of the three and my personal favorite.
Ingredients:
- Bitter leaves (scarole, frisée or endive)
- Saint-Marcellin cheese, lightly pan-fried in breadcrumbs (works with goat cheese also)
- Dried apricots
- Toasted croutons
- Spring onions
For the dressing:
- Olive oil
- Apricot jam
- White wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
The warm, crispy Saint-Marcellin against the bitter leaves and sweet apricots is a combination I first encountered in a small French restaurant and have been making ever since. The apricot jam in the dressing ties everything together in the most unexpected way.
This is a starter that feels like a restaurant dish. It takes twenty minutes and tastes like you spent much longer.
A Note on Winter Salads
The best winter salads are not afterthoughts. They are built around ingredients that are genuinely good in the cold months : roasted vegetables, bitter leaves, citrus, dried fruits, warm cheese. They are substantial enough to satisfy, interesting enough to remember.
A beautiful bowl/tray makes all the difference. I serve all three of these in the same wide hand-painted bowl and it never fails to get a comment.
These three are my tried and tested favorites. I hope they find a place in your kitchen too.
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