Recipe of the day: Scrumptious festive salads for Christmas

Many cooks and hosts are planning their festive Christmas lunch and dinner, and festive side dishes and salads are just as important to go with your turkey, gammon or lamb.

These festive salads will beautifully pair well with your main meals or could be eaten as an easy light meal this holiday season.

Festive salad wreath recipe

Ingredients

• 75g walnuts, broken into pieces
• 130g bag mixed green salad leaves
• 3 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• 250g blue cheese, crumbled
• 50g pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Heat a large dry frying pan, then add walnut pieces. Toast for 3-5min, shaking the pan until the walnuts smell toasted.
2. Tip into a bowl and set aside to cool. In a small serving bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
3. On a large board or platter, arrange salad leaves in a round wreath shape. 
4. Place the slices of pear in and amongst the leaves and scatter over the cheese. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds and toasted, cooled walnut pieces. 
5. Place the bowl of dressing in the centre of the wreath.

Now watch:

Roasted pear and gorgonzola salad 

Natasha Sideris, founder and CEO of the Tashas Group, and author of tashas Inspired said in a statement that she thought she was “done” with roasted salads until she tried this roasted pear and gorgonzola salad. 

“This is the golden wedding anniversary of roast veg salads. Sweet potato, red kuri pumpkin (better than butternut, in this case), slightly tart pears and a creamy, piquant Gorgonzola are a marriage made in heaven. Scatter a handful of butter-fried sage leaves on top just before serving to bring a light crispiness to this autumnal dish. Serve at room temperature, not cold from the fridge,” she advised. 

Serves 4

Ingredients 

• 4 baby sweet potatoes, halved
• 1 medium red Kuri pumpkin, cut in wedges
• 4 pears, halved, with skin on
• olive oil
• salt & black pepper
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
• 100g Gorgonzola cheese
• 100g cream
• 20 sage leaves
• butter for frying

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a roasting pan, drizzle the sweet potato, pumpkin and pear with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and scatter the thyme. Roast until soft and sticky. Remove and set aside to cool.
3. Combine the Gorgonzola and cream in a mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.
4. Heat the butter and fry the sage leaves until crisp.
5. Arrange the sweet potato, pumpkin and pear on a platter and garnish with generous dollops of whipped Gorgonzola. Drizzle the remaining butter over the top and garnish with crisp sage leaves.