Emerge into the world of culinary creativity with Angie’s perfect pairing guide for refreshing salad platters. In this article, we’ll be delving into the world of culinary pairings, discussing how side platters and beverages can be used to bring out flavours and how textures provide the perfect harmony to Angie’s signature salad platters.
Discover how pairing complementary side dishes can emphasise subtle notes within the main dishes while contrasting flavours can balance and mellow bold ingredients. Whether you’re aiming to enhance a Mediterranean main with a complementary side dish or calm down a spicy kick with a crisp and cool palate cleanser, this guide offers the insights you need to transform a good meal into a culinary adventure.
All of the exemplary dishes mentioned within this article are available at Angie’s, an exemplary UK-based catering service that brings restaurant quality meals straight to your door, hassle-free. Among our specialities are a range of fresh, vibrant salad platters and delicious accompanying dishes. Angie’s makes it easy to host memorable events, from casual gatherings to grand celebrations, our reliable delivery and delectable cuisine make all the difference.
Salad Platters: Side Dishes
Balancing Flavours
Serving side platters is a great way to balance the flavours of a dish, especially salad platters. This works best when you choose specific elements of a dish to emphasise and intensify. This may look like pairing a nutty side dish with a salad containing almonds, effectively emphasising the nutty flavours of the main dish.
Another effective way of using side platters to echo a dish is by choosing flavours from the same culinary background as the main dish. This strategy does more than simply empower the flavours of the dish, it also emphasises the mood and aesthetic of the entire dining experience. Curate a distinctly Mediterranean feel by pairing Greek salad platters with side dishes like olives, flatbreads or grilled aubergines.
Fusilli Pasta With Grilled Courgette is one of Angie’s most delectable and refreshing salad platters. It’s a fusilli-based pasta salad full of yellow and green grilled baby marrow, spring onion, shaved radish, citrusy lemon zest, peppery capers and a rich creamy mozzarella guaranteed to leave your guests spellbound and wanting more. A pairing of garlic herb crostini wonderfully emphasises the flavours of the courgettes, capers and mozzarella with a light smear of whipped ricotta or goats’ cheese and a hint of lemon zest atop a satisfyingly crunchy garlic crostini.
Contrasting Flavours
The power of a successful flavour contrast cannot be overstated. It is an incredibly effective tool in the culinary world which requires a fairly sophisticated understanding of flavours to successfully pull off. Contrast can effectively be used in two ways, but these often overlap with one another in any given application. The first method is balance: throw in a side dish with a totally opposing flavour profile alongside the main dish to mellow out the strong flavours. This essentially allows you to create a main dish with very bold flavours, as the side dish will lessen the intensity of those flavours. For example, a rocket salad can taste less overpowering with a side dish of creamy mozzarella balls. The second method involves combining two contrasting flavours to bring out new notes in both, effectively creating an entirely new flavour. One of the best examples of this is creating sweet-savoury glazes.
If you’re looking for delicious salad platters with contrasting flavours, Angie’s Broccoli, Beans And Sugar Snaps dish is the way to go. It is a flavourful platter of dark roasted broccoli with a bright, fresh green bean salad full of sugar snaps, hot red chilli chopped tarragon and red endives, bound to catch both the eye and appetite of your guests.
Pair this dish with crispy chickpea bites with smoked paprika as the aromatic paprika ties into the mild heat of the red chilli. This also balances out the freshness of the sugar snaps and tarragon with an effective contrast, while both the crunch and subtle smokiness of the chickpeas enhances the roasted broccoli and green beans in flavour and texture.
Diverse Texture
While flavours can be freely used to either emphasise or contrast a dish, it’s generally understood that it’s best to serve a side platter with a contrasting texture to the main dish. Salad platters full of crunchy, crispy elements pair well with a creamy or soft side dish. If a salad is full of croutons, dried onion or flaked almonds, it might be a good idea to pair it with a snack like fluffy pitas with a gentle dip like tzatziki. On the other hand, salad platters made up of mostly soft and leafy textures can be kept interesting with a pairing of crispy crackers and crunchy chips. Remember that the mouth feel of a culinary experience can be just as important as the flavour aspects.
Angie’s Grilled Cauliflower And Halloumi salad platters offer the perfectly diverse texture as it’s a delicious and wholesome dish of grilled cauliflower served alongside a herby chickpea hummus, kale, bright spring onion and chewy grilled halloumi. Try pairing this with spiced almonds as the warm, spiced nuts bring a crunchy and slightly salty contrast to the creaminess of the humus and halloumi. Their subtle spice ties into the earthy flavours of the cauliflower and kale.
Salad Platters: Beverages
Enhancing Flavours
Beverages are an incredible way to enhance a wide variety of salad platters, done by selectively pairing ingredients with drinks that will emphasise their flavours. One way to do this is by pairing a chili-rich dish with a wine containing spicy notes. Additionally, a beverage from the same culinary background as the main dish can work wonders in deepening both the intensity of the flavours and overall aesthetic of the meal. For example, try pairing Asian salad platters with Japanese beverages like sake.
Here’s an example from our selection of salad platters: our Lentil And Smoky Aubergine platter is a gorgeous and flavourful salad of roast aubergine and lentils, full of char roasted red pepper, vibrant spring onion, crispy radish, creamy crème fraiche and a rich smoked aubergine puree, bound to have your guests coming back for seconds.
Pair this with a Chardonnay (preferably lightly oaked) as this wine will tie the flavours of this dish together with its fresh acidity and subtle richness, complementing the roasted and smoky flavours in the salad with citrus notes while balancing the crème fraiche and lentils with its smoothness.
Balanced Flavours
Just as side dishes can contrast the flavours of salad platters, so too can drinks provide this balancing contrast. You’ll find that most often, a drink will be used to mellow out strong flavours in a main dish. This allows you to be bolder with the dish, as the strong flavours will be mellowed out by the addition of a refreshing drink. Pale beers are often used in this pursuit, as their crisp and clear notes often cut right through the heaviness of dishes with a rich flavour profile, although any drink—alcoholic or otherwise—can be used to great effect.
Angie’s cauliflower rice salad platters are an aromatic Mediterranean flavour explosion seasoned with turmeric and curry powder, topped with fresh red peppers, soya beans and chewy halloumi. Iced mango lassi is the perfect pairing for this flavourful dish, as the spice of the turmeric and curry powder is balanced out by the creamy and slightly sweet mango lassi, which also offers a cooling contrast to the flavours of the cauliflower salad.
Palate Cleansers
Beverages are the perfect way to cleanse a palate between meals. This is similar to using a drink to balance out the flavours of a dish, but effectively more powerful. The aim is to completely naturalise any (or most of) the lingering flavours, effectively refreshing the palate before the next dish. This can be particularly useful in two instances. The first case is for salad platters with a heavy flavour profile, where a palate cleanser helps to avoid letting the flavours become too overpowering.
A cleansing beverage might also be a great addition to a dining table made up of platters containing many bite-sized portions, as being able to refresh the palate between each sampling allows your guests to try a great variety of dishes without their flavours overlapping and interfering with one another. Offer your guests light palate-cleansing beverages as they dine, such as light beers or cool non-alcoholic drinks.
You can find the perfect example in the broccoli, chickpea and aubergine platter, an item from Angie’s selection of salad platters. This is a flavourful platter of broccoli and chickpeas served atop a delicious salad of fresh spinach, peppery caper berries and rich parmesan cheese, topped off with a lemon caper mayonnaise sure to leave your guests craving more.
Sparkling lemon and mint water is the perfect palate cleaner to this dish. Bright and bubbly, this cooldrink is full of citrussy notes that cut through the richness of the mayonnaise. This beverage choice also balances the salad’s earthy notes and briny tang with fresh mint, making it the absolute ideal addition to this rich main dish.
In Conclusion
The art of pairing is a sophisticated one, taking into account many elements. Side dishes, and beverages play a vital role in elevating a main dish, especially when served with contrasting flavours and textures. Pairing your salad platters with the right beverages and side dishes is sure to enhance the dining experience for your guests overall.
Side dishes are able to emphasise flavours, create contrast, and balance textures, allowing you to transform simple salad platters into a rich and harmonious feast. Serving beverages with your mains is a great way to elevate a dish. Whether a drink is enhancing, balancing, or cleansing the palate, a well paired beverage further refines the flavours of the main dish, ensuring a dynamic and satisfying meal. With carefully selected pairings for your salad platters, you can turn any gathering into a truly memorable culinary experience.
If you’re hosting an intimate gathering or looking for a refreshing selection of salad platters to serve at your wedding, Angie’s is here to help. Packed with unique flavours and served fresh, our salad platters take any catered event to the next level. If you’d like to order your own salad platters, visit our website to find the perfect selection tailored to your event.
