I’m very pro-buffet during the festive season. Lay it all out and let the hordes descend. If I’m catching up with friends and family, I’ve no interest in plating and serving food, course by course. A thoughtful buffet is just as generous a gesture anyway, all elements laid out for the taking; an adult pick-and-mix.
But how to really nail it? Because everyone wants to “win” at their festive dinner, whether they admit that fact or not. What’s needed, then, is a component which ties everything else together, built from complementary flavours that nod to each player while adding seemingly effortless style.
The answer, I promise you, is salad.
It should be big and seasonal, a centrepiece packed with colours, textures and freshness. At a time when palates are overwhelmed by pastry, pork and endless leftovers, the addition of some jolly vegetables brings much-needed vim. All these salads combine seasonal ingredients with zippy dressings to jiggle the taste buds. Plus, they’re ideal for using leftover cheese and nuts.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match cheeses from the same category (for instance, gorgonzola can be swapped for another blue, such as stilton, while a sharp feta can be subbed for a tangy goat’s). Nuts and seeds, meanwhile, should always be toasted.
Related articles:
Serve your salad at the centre of the spread with tongs on the side for ease of plating: it’s much easier for people to pinch a satisfactory serving than wrestle straggled pieces with their forks. After all, this time of year is about relaxed, informal dining – with just the right amount of showing off.
Endive, grape and gorgonzola salad with pickled-walnut dressing
Bright, bitter leaves, sweet black grapes and slices of creamy gorgonzola are combined with a sweet-tart dressing made with pickled walnuts and shallots. This is a real celebration of contrasts. Serves 6. Ready in 20 minutes.
red endives 4, leaves separated
gorgonzola 150g, sliced
black grapes 250g (weight with stalks)
walnuts 70g, toasted
chives 1 tbsp, finely sliced, to serve
For the dressing:
shallot 1, finely diced
red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
pickled walnuts 2, mashed to a paste, plus 2 tbsp of their pickling liquid
extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
Start the dressing. Combine the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl and leave to macerate while you make the salad.
Toss together the endives, gorgonzola, grapes and walnuts until combined.
Add the rest of the dressing ingredients to the shallot with a pinch of salt and whisk to emulsify. Combine the dressing and salad and top with the chives.
Persimmon and feta salad with sumac dressing
Persimmons are a godsend in winter when the choice of fruit is greatly reduced. They’re sweet and fragrant and the perfect contrast with salty feta and an electric dressing of lime juice and sumac.
Serves 6. Ready in 20 minutes.
red cabbage ½, small, very finely sliced
persimmons 2-3, ripe, topped and tailed and thinly sliced
feta cheese 200g, crumbled
red onion ½, small, very finely sliced
For the dressing:
extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
lime juice 2 tbsp
apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp
maple syrup 1 tbsp
sumac 1 tbsp
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a clean, lidded jar or bowl and shake or whisk to combine.
Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl, then toss the dressing through.
Roasted and pickled shallots with za’atar crumbs and sharp cheddar
This cheese and onion arrangement will complement almost every other nibble on the table (calling it a “salad” is possibly a stretch). A heap of roasted shallots is topped with crunchy za’atar crumbs, quick-pickled shallot rings and shavings of sharp, aged cheddar.
Serves 6. Ready in 20 minutes.
banana shallots 800g
white wine vinegar 50ml
hot water 100ml (not boiling)
caster sugar 1.5 tbsp
sea salt 1 tbsp, plus extra
olive oil 2 tbsp
panko crumbs 25g
za’atar 2 tbsp
cheddar 100g, sharp and aged, broken into bite-sized chunks
For the dressing:
extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
date (or maple) syrup 1 tbsp
lemon juice 1 tbsp
balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6. Peel the shallots, cutting any large ones in half. Slice 3 of them into rings.
Mix the vinegar, water, sugar and salt together and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the shallot rings and set aside.
Combine the remaining whole shallots with the olive oil and a pinch of salt on a roasting tray and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until soft.
Heat a scant tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the panko crumbs and toast, stirring very frequently, until they’re a deep golden colour. Set aside on kitchen paper and allow to cool, then stir through the za’atar and season with salt.
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a clean, lidded jar or bowl and shake or whisk to combine.
Heap the roasted shallots on to a platter and top with the dressing, crumbs, pickled shallots and cheddar.