By Maddison Howell
WHEN the weather warms up and barbecue season rolls around, it’s always handy to have a couple of reliable salads up your sleeve. Whether you’re serving up a Sunday roast, firing up the barbie or heading to a friend’s place for a get-together, these two family favourites are easy to prepare and guaranteed to earn a spot on the table.
Straight from my mum’s kitchen, these recipes are simple and best made ahead of time, leaving you with less fuss when it’s time to entertain.
Creamy bacon and potato salad
Tender potato, crispy bacon and spring onion come together in a deliciously creamy sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese dressing. A perfect side for any summer spread.
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes
- 5 slices of short cut bacon
- Spring onion
- 300g sour cream
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- ½ cup shredded cheese
Method
- Peel and cut the potato into small bite size pieces and cook until just tender. Sit aside.
- Cut bacon into small pieces and cook. Sit aside.
- Thinly slice spring onion.
- In a large bowl, combine potato, bacon and spring onion and mix together.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise and shredded cheese.
- Pour mayonnaise mixture over the potato and combined thoroughly, place in the fridge until cold and serve.
Bacon and balsamic pasta salad
A simple mix of spiral pasta, crispy bacon, fresh tomato and spring onion, finished with a drizzle of balsamic dressing. Fresh, colourful and made for the barbecue table.
Ingredients
- 1 pack of spiral pasta
- 5 rashes of short cut bacon
- Spring onion
- 2 tomatoes
- Balsamic salad dressing
Method
- Cook spiral pasta until done, strain and sit aside.
- Thinley cut bacon, cook and sit aside.
- Thinley slice spring onion and tomatoes.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients.
- Pour over Balsamic salad dressing to taste.
- Store in fridge until cold and serve.
A little tip from Mum: Make both salads a few hours ahead or even the night before and pop them in the fridge until serving time. This gives them plenty of time to chill and lets all those lovely flavours come together.
Sometimes the best recipes aren’t complicated or fancy, they’re the ones passed around the family, enjoyed year after year and always leave everyone asking for seconds.
