I’ve been invited to a Virtual Christmas Party by some of my dear bloggy friends…so what do you bring when… ‘you’re told not to bring a thing’ (Or in this case…actually asked to contribute something… ha!)?

Well, a SALAD of course.

Okay, maybe not ‘of course’, but this salad contains chocolate. YES, CHOCOLATE. Thus, it is in my opinion acceptable to not only make friends with, but to also bring along to any of your festive Christmas gatherings.

A summery salad also makes for a nice change from all the sweet festive recipes floating around, which is actually code for… I’m currently nursing one heck of a belly ache from having consumed my weight in Gingerbread granola, and it’s still 7 days until Christmas… thus #sweetoverload, so naturally…SALAD.

Although, lets be honest salad tends to be a mainstay on any Australian Christmas table thanks to the decidedly horrid (so not Christmass-y like the movies! Yes, I’m having a whinge!) heat of summer, at this time of year.

The summer fruits, however, available at this time of year, are just one of the (very few!) bonuses of a warm Christmas though, and I’m having lots of fun including juicy stone fruits and fresh berries into savoury salads, as well as the usual sweet fare. Sweet, ripe peaches work so well with the zesty lemon/pomegranate dressing, intense (and rather savoury) dark chocolate, and the saltiness of the feta cheese, in this salad.

What’s even better is that this salad is SO quick and simple to whip up it barely needs a recipe, but I’ve written one anyway. It also makes for a worthy bowl of deliciousness that I would happily devour on boxing day, when the realities of one epic food hangover truly kick in!

So back to our Virtual Christmas Party…you will find links to more festive (and I’m sure much more sophisticated) recipes by my fellow bloggy buds listed at the bottom of this post.

We’ve pretty much sorted out your entire Christmas menu…you can thank us later (…or now…we will never decline edible gifts?!)

Festive Summer Salad

Serves 1 (as a main) / 2 (as a side)

For the salad:

1 large yellow peach

4-5 large handfuls of rocket/arugula (and/or a mix of other dark leafy salad greens – I used some Fat Hen in this salad too…google it! Really yum wild leafygreen…)

30 g of crumbly feta or goat’s curd

½ tbs of sunflower seeds

10 g of finely chopped super dark chocolate (I used Liefje Pomegranate and Pepperberry)

For the dressing:

Juice of half a medium lemon

4 tsp of olive oil

1 tsp of pomegranate molasses

Pinch sea salt/pepper

Method

Thoroughly wash and drain salad greens, before adding to a large bowl and coating with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

Slice up peach and arrange segments in bowl over leafy greens. Gently crumble over the feta or goat’s cheese and sprinkle over the finely chopped dark chocolate and sunflower seeds (for extra flavour you could also slightly toast these).

Place all salad dressing ingredients into a small jar, then pop the lid on and give the jar a good shake to emulsify all the ingredients together. Then taste and adjust seasoning and/or sweet/sour balance of lemon versus pomegranate molasses, as needed.

When ready to serve, pour desired amount of dressing over assembled salad and toss gently. Extra salad dressing can be stored in refrigerator.

Notes

The fresh peach can easily be substituted for nectarine or even juicy strawberries.

NOW, have a browse at some of the other dishes on our virtual Christmas table…

Dancing Through Sunday- Vegetarian Stuffing Balls

Champagne and Chips- Ice Cream Terrine

84th and 3rd – Nectarine Almond Streusel French Toast

The Brick Kitchen– Passionfruit Raspberry Pavlova Ice-cream 

Whats for Eats– Sugar Crunch Cookies