10 Fresh summer salad recipes
1st Jan 2015 Recipes
Although salads can be enjoyed all year round, they really come into their own during the summer, when they are the perfect accompaniment to any al fresco meal. Here are our favourite recipes for sensational summer salads.
Classic Greek salad
Image via Lavender and Lovage
Let’s start off with a classic salad and one that is often served as a main course in its own right, with acres of crusty bread and a glass of ouzo.
Packed with feta cheese, fresh oregano, cucumbers, olives and tomatoes with an olive oil and lemon dressing, it’s one of my favourite summer salads.
Strawberry, cucumber and mint salad with Pimm's dressing
Image via Foodie Quine
There can be little more summery than a salad followed by strawberries and some Pimm’s, and in this case, the salad has the strawberries and Pimm’s IN the salad.
This salad also has cooling cucumber and fresh mint in it, making it a bit of a Pimm’s cocktail on a plate.
Simple orange ginger carrot salad
Image via Tin and Thyme
This next salad recipe is wonderful—fresh ginger is added to freshly grated carrots and chives and it's all dressed in a zingy citrus dressing.
I’m sure it would be perfect with any grilled meats, or for a picnic with a piece of homemade pie or quiche.
Pasta salad with Quorn wild garlic sausages and lemon yoghurt dressing
Image via Belleau Kitchen
Everyone loves a pasta salad, and this recipe from Belleau Kitchen is a cracker.
This punchy salad would make a great vegetarian main meal. As well as having the Quorn veggie sausages in it, is also packs a veggie punch with courgettes, peas and asparagus.
Leon’s beetroot labneh dukkah salad
Image via Veggie Desserts
This recipe comes from cafe chain Leon’s latest cookbook, Happy Salads.
The lightly salted labneh adds a creamy subtle richness to the recipe and complements the beetroot so much that it blushes pink to create a seriously “pretty in pink” salad.
Tasty tomato salad
Image via London Unattached
It would be a poor list of summer salads if I didn’t add any with tomatoes, and this salad is based on a recipe the creator remembers eating when she first stayed with a family in France.
The recipe looks and sounds delightful and is good enough to eat “en famille” any day of the week!
“Scandi” dill potato salad with flaked salmon
Image via Glamourous Glutton
This lovely “Scandi” salad is based on the Glamorous Glutton’s mother’s authentic Scandinavian recipe and was often taken on picnics.
New potatoes are adorned with dill and capers, and hot smoked salmon is then added as an extra luxury ingredient, it sounds utterly divine!
A very red cabbage salad
Image via My Custard Pie
Red cabbage is often seen as a winter vegetable, but it gets a sleek makeover in this stunningly colourful salad recipe.
Mix red cabbage with apples, onions, radishes and pomegranate seeds for a bowl of ruby deliciousness, perfect as a side for burgers and bangers.
Quinoa, asparagus, pea and lemon salad
Image via Taming Twins
This next salad is a veritable bowl of green lushness! If asparagus is out of season then you can quite happily substitute it with avocado, which is also green and delicious.
The quinoa adds the protein and the salad is all bound together in a tasty lemon dressing.
Heirloom tomato and chive flower salad
Image via Lavender and Lovage
My last salad is one of my own creations and is a medley of heirloom tomatoes with chives and chive flowers.
It’s a simple salad of assorted tomatoes in all shapes, colours and sizes and is perfect as a summer accompaniment to all grilled meats, cheeses, tarts and of course crusty bread.
Karen Burns-Booth is a freelance recipe developer, food and travel writer and is a member if the Guild of Food Writers. She writes for her own blog Lavender and Lovage.
You can follow Karen on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Google +
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more inspiring food lists