Top 10 Favourite Summer Salads!
Looking for some salad inspiration to spruce up your menu?
Or perhaps you’re simply in need of something a little more exciting that’s healthy, fresh and flavoursome. We totally get it!
Salads don’t have to be boring and after rounding up these amazing recipes, we know how to wipe out the boring.
Here are our top 10 summer salads prepared by our very own home cooks and pro chefs.
1.Broad bean & artichoke Salad
Chef: Gennaro Contaldo
Recipe: Broad bean and artichoke salad
This Italian legend knows his deli counter and can whip up a healthy salad in no time! The Broad Bean & Artichoke Salad is quick and simple using preserved artichokes – obtainable from good Italian delis – and convenient frozen broad beans, which are lightly cooked until tender. It can be served as a starter, as a side dish or as a light lunch with some warm crusty Maltese bread. Yum!
2.Spiced Lentil and Chickpea Salad
Chef: Charlene Bugeja
Recipe: Spiced lentil and chickpea salad
Charlene Bugeja takes us on a cruise across the Mediterranean to whip up this insanely tasty and nutritious salad. From the Cypriot Halloumi to the North African Harissa mixed with Mediterranean classics, this Spiced Lentil and Chickpea Salad makes an attractive and vibrant platter dish that will have the forks digging in from all ends.
3.Asparagus Salad
Chef: Stephanie Zammit
Recipe: Asparagus Salad
Home cook Steph hits the spot with her enticing Asparagus Salad, topped with pecorino cheese and super-food goodness. An attractive salad that plays with flavours making it a perfect light lunch on the unbearably hot days.
4.Fennel & Orange Salad
Chef: Eddie Sharkey
Recipe: Fennel and Orange Salad
Ah – one of our Sicilian favourites. The Fennel and Orange salad prepared by Eddie Sharkey is the ideal tangy citrus side salad to refresh the palate, turn down the heat and ease digestion.
5.Smoked Beetroot Salad
Chef: Ljuana Xuereb
Recipe: Smoked beetroot salad
Now here’s a feast to the senses. Ljuana’s Smoked Beetroot Salad is vibrant, textured and just so pleasing to the eye … as it is to the taste! Want to impress your guests? Have a go at this recipe and you’re in for some serious compliments. Serve as a shared platter to enjoy the joy of eating together.
6.Fruity Fresh Barley Salad
Chef: Daniel Pisani
Recipe: Fruity fresh barley salad
A healthy lunch that is filling, nutritious and gets you ahead on your daily 5? Yes please! Daniel got it right with the right balance with this Fresh and Fruity Barley Salad. Don’t forget the Hummus!
7.Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Chef: Stefan Hogan
Recipe: Falafel with tahini sauce and salad
This scrumptious falafel recipe is perfect for a light lunch (or even lunch on-the-go). Make the falafels ahead in time – serve with tahini sauce and toasted pita bread for a light lunch or stuff them into a pita with salad, garlic mayonnaise and tahini. Yum!
8.Nasturtium salad
Chef: James Staniland
Recipe: In Bloom
James, the brilliant chef behind The Wandering Kitchen pop up dinners, takes a walk into the countryside to pick some fresh edible flowers. Nasturtium – sometimes found in the Maltese countryside – have leaves with a peppery taste similar to watercress whilst the edible flowers add a lovely bright touch to salads! Check out this edible flower recipe for some natural freshness and wellness.
9.Lentil & King Prawn Salad
Chef: Stephanie Zammit
Recipe: Lentil and king prawn salad
Another salad breaking the mold of boring salads! Summer in Malta in synonymous with fish grilling and fish platters by the sea. Add them to your salad and voila … a kind of surf n’ turf if you please. Chef’s tip: Make a fresh fish stock using the heads of the prawns and any other fish you are cooking that day for authentic seafood flavour.
10.Preserved Artichoke Salad
Chef: Ljuana Xuereb
Recipe: Preserved artichoke salad
We simply cannot lay off the artichokes! Ljuana sends us back to the deli for some delicious preserved artichokes to add in the light and fresh salad. Top with a generous dollop of preserved lemon mayo and serve. Buon Appetito!
Which is your summer salad favourite from our home cooks and pro chefs? Comment below, in the meantime, put your apron on, whip up one of these salads and Buon Appetito!
