Question 1

What type of cheese is best in a salad?

Accepted Answer

There truly is a cheese for every mood, and a cheese for every salad. What type works best is really based on your taste preferences and the kind of salad you are going for.

This salad is classic and humble. It uses a mix of two types of cheddars to balance creamy and mild with sharp and mature, but you can just use one type if you prefer. Other cheeses which are great for grating into a salad include:

•	Red Leicestershire
•	Emmental / Swiss
•	Gruyere

Question 2

Is it healthy?

Accepted Answer

I'm sure you'll be aware that cheese isn't typically featured in the A-Z of healthy food choices since it is dense in calories and fat. However, enjoyed in moderation and reasonable portions it can certainly form part of a healthy diet. There are also a few other benefits of adding cheese to your next salad. 
Firstly, by making your salad more appetising you are more likely to want to eat the other highly nutritious (albeit sometimes bland) salad ingredients. Plain old lettuce? Not so fun. Lettuce with some creamy cheese? yes, please! This salad contains other great ingredients including carrot, sweetcorn and lettuce.

Secondly, cheese is loaded with protein and calcium. 30g of cheddar (the amount used in this recipe) gives around a quarter of your recommended daily allowance of calcium. And the protein in the cheese will help you feel fuller for longer which may help stop you from snacking on other things between meals!

Finally, this salad is dressed with creamy mayo for simplicity. If you want to make this a little healthier you can use a low-fat mayo or salad cream. Or make a light yogurt dressing with natural yogurt, a little lemon juice and some cracked black pepper.

Question 3

How can I serve this salad?

Accepted Answer

This cheese salad can certainly be served on its own as a light meal. Or you can use it as a side dish for a variety of things. Why not try it:

•	At a BBQ with some grilled steaks or burgers
•	With these super fresh and flavoursome Greek stuffed chicken breasts for a colourful summer meal
•	With these succulent minted lamb chops for a tasty and impressive dinner
•	Alongside these salmon burgers for an easy and lighter take away alternative
•	Alongside these slow cooker Mediterranean stuffed peppers for a tasty vegetarian meal
•	As a side with these mint lamb burgers

Question 4

Can I make it in advance?

Accepted Answer

This salad is great for making in advance. It's perfect for taking to a get-together, adding to a lunchbox or planning ahead for those days you know you won't have much time to cook. 

If making in advance, then don't dress the salad until you are ready to serve it. While mayo might not wilt the ingredients as much as a vinaigrette dressing, it will certainly make the salad softer if it is sat in the dressing for long. I also recommend slicing the lettuce close to the time of serving, and not more than 24 hours in advance, as it may start to brown, even when kept sealed in the fridge. Everything else can be prepared and mixed 1-2 days in advance.

Cheese Salad

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition