Winter salads can be just as tasty and comforting as summer ones, especially when we get the recipes straight from some of London’s top chefs. Using seasonal ingredients like roasted vegetables, leafy greens, and citrus fruits, these salads are fresh, healthy, and full of flavour.

We love that these winter recipes are also easy to make at home, whether you need a quick lunch or a special side dish. Here are some simple winter salad recipes from some of London’s best chefs to try in your own kitchen.

Beetroot salad

By Marco Corsica, Head Chef of Bocconcino Mayfair

Ingredients

  • Goat cheese
  • Beetroot
  • Pine nuts
  • Shallots
  • Chives
  • Pesto
  • Vinegar
  • Lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Mustard

Method

  1. Roast the golden/red beetroot until tender and caramelised.
  2. Caramelise the shallots in olive oil until golden.
  3. Place the roasted beetroot and shallots on a plate, then top with a whole roasted goat cheese round.
  4. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chives, and drizzle with pesto.
  5. For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, lemon, oil, and mustard, and drizzle over the salad before serving.

Hake with winter salad

By Jack Stein, Chef Director at Rick Stein Restaurants

serves 4

Ingredients

  • 6 medium-sized beetroots, peeled
  • A pinch of caster sugar
  • 1 strip of lime zest
  • 1 strip of lemon zest
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
  • 100g red cabbage, finely shredded
  • 100g white cabbage, finely shredded
  • 50g kale or cavolo nero, finely shredded
  • A small bunch of chives, chopped
  • A small handful of fennel fronds
  • 1 tablespoon sea purslane leaves (optional)
  • A small bunch of sea beet leaves, finely shredded (optional)
  • 4 (100g) pieces of hake fillet
  • 25g butter
  • 50ml dry white wine
  • 100ml fish stock
  • Sea salt flakes

For the dressing

  •  3 tablespoons beetroot juice (from the cooked beetroots)
  •  2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  •  3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
  •  ½ pomegranate, seeds only
  •  Salt


Method

  1. Place 2 of the beetroots in a small pan with the sugar, a good pinch of salt, the lime and lemon zest, and
    the cloves and cinnamon. Cover with cold water, bring to boil, lower the heat and leave to simmer very gently for 1 hour or until tender when pierced through to the centre with a fine skewer. Remove the cooked beetroots and set them aside to cool.
  2. To serve, thinly slice the remaining cooked beetroot and overlap the slices to form a disc in the centre of each serving plate. Place a 10-12cm cooking ring in the centre of a beetroot disc and fill with the salad mixture. Carefully lift the ring off and repeat for each of the remaining plates.
  3. Place a piece of fish on top of the salad and spoon the dressing and pomegranate seeds around to finish.
  4. Meanwhile, roughly chop the 4 remaining beetroots and blend in a food processor to a smooth purée.
  5. Tip the purée into a sieve set over a bowl and press out all the liquid with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
  6. This should yield about 75ml of liquid. Set this aside for the dressing.
  7. Cut 1 of the beetroots into thin slices, then cut these into fine matchsticks. Mix the shredded cabbages, chives, fennel fronds, beetroot matchsticks and the sea purslane and sea beet (if using) together in a large bowl. Set this aside.
  8. Season the hake on both sides with salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for the dressing, whisk the beetroot juice with the vinegar, oil and some salt to taste. Set aside.
  9. To cook the hake, first melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan large enough to hold the fish comfortably side by side. Pat the hake dry with kitchen paper, add to the pan, skin side down, and cook over medium-high heat until pale golden brown (1-2 minutes). Turn the pieces over, add the white wine and fish stock to the pan, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until cooked through. Keep warm.
  10. To finish the dressing, whisk 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid from the fish pan into the beetroot dressing and season to taste with salt. Add 4 tablespoons of the dressing to the cabbage salad and mix until well combined. Stir the pomegranate seeds into the remaining dressing.

Wasabi caesar salad

By Nobu Matsuhisa

serves 4

Ingredients

Wasabi caesar dressing

  • ‌300g mayonnaise
  • 15g wasabi (mixed with a little water to form a paste)
  • 1tsp soy sauce
  • Squeeze of lemon juice‌

Tofu croutons

  • 1 pack aburaage tofu (fried tofu)
  • 250ml dashi
  • 60ml mirin
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 10g honey

‌F‌or the salad

  • Parmesan to taste
  • 6-8 hearts of little gem lettuce

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 90°C.
  2. Wash and pat dry your tofu, and cut into small bite-sized pieces (approximately 7-10 per person).
  3. Toss with the marinade ingredients until well coated and spread out on a well-greased baking tray in a single layer.
  4. Bake for 40 minutes or until crispy.
  5. Mix together all the ingredients for your dressing and set aside.
  6. In a bowl, toss together the gem lettuce, wasabi Caesar dressing, Parmesan and croutons, making sure each leaf is well coated.

Grilled tiger prawns & citrus som tam salad

By Sebby Holmes, Head Chef and Founder of Farang in London

serves 2

Ingredients

  • 8-10 prawns, cleaned, deveined and outer shells removed
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons dried shrimp
  • a pinch of Maldon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon peanuts, fried or roasted
  • 3 red bird’s-eye chillies (more if you like it spicy)
  • 10g green beans, chopped in half
  • 30g cherry tomatoes
  • 200g shredded green papaya (can be found in most Asian supermarkets)
  • 10–15g palm sugar
  • 20ml thick tamarind water

Method

  1. Coat the prawns in the fish sauce and oil, then place them on a hot grill for 2-3 minutes until the side in contact with the heat has turned pink. Turn the prawns over and repeat on the other side until they are hot throughout. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  2. Pound the garlic and dried shrimp in a mortar and pestle, using the salt as an abrasive. Then, break up the peanuts just enough to mix through the salad; be careful not to overdo them or they will turn into peanut butter.
  3. One by one, add the chillies, green beans, tomatoes, grilled prawns and papaya to the mortar, bruising them as you go to distribute the flavours.
  4. Add the palm sugar, tamarind water, lime juice, chopped lime and the juice of 1 clementine.
  5. Give the salad a final bruising to ensure all ingredients are packed full of the flavoursome dressing, ensuring the palm sugar has completely dissolved.
  6. Taste the dressing to check that it suits your tastes – it should be sweet, salty, sour and spicy with a hint of bitterness from the lime zest. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, then serve.

Cornish Crab Salad

By Abel & Cole

serves 2

Ingredients

  • 100g white Cornish crab meat
  • 1 whole lettuce
  • 1 cup baby spinach leaves
  • 10-12 fresh French beans-about a handful, as tender as possible
  • 1 red onion

For the marinade

  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Juice of ½ a lime
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar
  • A pinch of sea salt and pepper

For the dressing

  • ½ clove of garlic-pureed
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • A drop of honey
  • A pinch of dried oregano
  • Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

  1. Start by preparing the onions. Peel the onion and cut it in half. Place it in a bowl and add all the marinade ingredients. Mix gently so that everything is incorporated. Seal the bowl with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The ideal time for them to be fully marinated is 2 hours. After that, they can be kept and consumed for up to three days.
  2. Cut off the ends of the French beans and snap them in half. Heat a small frying pan with a drop of olive oil. Sautee the beans for 3-4 minutes and set aside.
  3. Prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients in a bowl.
  4. Wash the lettuce and chop it into large pieces. Place in a large salad bowl and mix well with the baby spinach leaves and the French beans.
  5. Add the crab and as much of the marinated onions as you wish. Drizzle with the dressing.
  6. Mix well and enjoy.
Food & Drink, Recipes

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