BBQ salad recipes without a soggy lettuce leaf in sight
Side salads deserve their time in the sun too, says Hannah Twiggs. Let these recipes inspire your next summer party
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BBQs are just as much about the side dishes as they are the burgers and various grilled meats, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited to serving soggy lettuce.
These Maldon Salt salad recipes deliver on everything from a fresh and vibrant orange and carrot salad with halloumi, to a light but flavour-packed pasta salad.
Or get your greens in with a steak salad with broccoli, parmesan, and a chilli and herb dressing.
Orange and carrot salad with grilled halloumi
This orange and carrot salad, paired with barbecue grilled halloumi creates the perfect salad for any summer dinner party.
Ingredients:
2 Navel oranges
2 blood oranges
2 carrots
200g halloumi cheese
2 tbsp black olives
2 sprigs of fresh mint
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Maldon Salt
1 pinch of cumin
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1. Wash, dry and de-leaf the fresh mint. Set aside a few whole leaves and chop up the rest finely. Juice ½ a blood orange, filter out the excess bits/pips with a sieve, then season the juice with Maldon Salt and pepper. Add the olive oil, cumin and chopped mint and mix together well. Put this salad dressing in the fridge for later.
2. Cut the peel and pith away from the rest of the oranges with a very sharp knife until the pulp is completely clean. Cut each orange into segments and toss into a salad bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, finely shred the peeled carrots into the bowl, and add the olives and salad dressing together.
3. Chop the halloumi into thin slices, lightly brush with olive oil and then grill on the barbecue until golden on both sides. Serve together with the salad. Add a pinch of Maldon Salt for seasoning.
Pasta salad
The simple yet delicious pasta salad is easy to make, perfect for the hot summer months when craving for something light but packed full of flavour.
Ingredients:
350g short pasta
150g cherry tomatoes
1 bag of mini mozzarella balls
16 black olives
8 anchovy fillets in oil
2 tbsp chopped toasted pistachios or pine nuts
16 capers
¼ medium red onion
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 sprigs of fresh basil with small leaves
Maldon Salt
Black pepper
Method:
1. Wash, dry and chop the tomatoes into eighths, place them in a salad bowl and season with Maldon Salt and pepper.
2. Add the drained mozzarella balls, olives, capers and chopped onion and drizzle with olive oil. Drain the anchovies and add to the mix. Wash and dry the basil and then remove the leaves from the stem.
3. Cook the pasta al dente in plenty of salted water, according to the instructions on the packet, then drain and cool under cold running water. Once fully drained, mix the pasta in with the rest of the ingredients in the salad bowl.
4. To plate up, place the anchovies on top, sprinkle on the pistachios and basil leaves and serve at room temperature.
Steak salad with purple broccoli, parmesan, and chilli and herb dressing
A beautiful seared steak salad recipe paired with the best in season purple sprouting broccoli and broad beans.
Ingredients:
400g sirloin steak
100ml plive oil, plus extra for frying
A handful of chopped parsley
A handful of chopped coriander
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
200g purple sprouting broccoli
150g broad beans, blanched
50g wild rocket
25g aged parmesan
20g toasted pine nuts
A pinch of Maldon Salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Begin by cooking the steak. Make sure your meat is out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, so it has time to come up to room temperature. Get a frying pan or griddle pan on the heat get it to a nice high heat. Drizzle some olive oil onto your steak and season generously with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Once the pan is nice a hot, place the meat in and allow it to sear and sizzle on one side first. Depending on the size of your steak this can take a good 5 minutes on each side. You want good, deep caramelization on all sides of the meat.
3. While the meat is cooking place the purple sprouting broccoli onto a baking tray and drizzle over some oil and a pinch of Maldon salt. Place the tray into the oven and roast the broccoli for 10-12 minutes until tender and starting to char slightly.
4. Once the steak is cooked to your liking – we’ve served it medium rare here – remove from the pan and leave it to rest on a chopping board. The resting time is key! It helps keep all the cooking juices to stay absorbed inside before slicing.
5. While your meat rests, prepare the rest of the salad. Place the olive oil in a small bowl and mix with the chopped parsley and coriander, the diced red chilli and some Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Set this dressing aside.
6. On a large platter scatter over the wild rocket. Next top this with the roasted broccoli and the blanched broad beans.
7. The meat will be rested now, so carefully slice at a diagonal into thin slices. Place this over the salad. Any meat juices that are left on the board can be carefully poured into the bowl with the dressing ingredients.
8. Drizzle over the dressing, shave some parmesan across the top and sprinkle over toasted pine nuts. Give the whole salad a final pinch of Maldon salt and some cracked black pepper and then serve.
Recipes from Maldon Salt. Find more at maldonsalt.com/recipes-tips-blog
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