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But you can atone for over-indulgence with a healthy dinner or two. Here are a few recent salad-for-dinner successes.

Gilled Peach & Prosciutto
This salad was so successful I made it again for Christmas Day lunch. The grilled peaches look spectacular and the sweetness is perfect with the salty prosciutto. The original recipe from Delicious magazine included a chilli yoghurt dressing but I found was an unnecessary addition so I skipped it the second time around.

Ingredients:
8 ripe peaches
1 bag of rocket or any greens with flavour
4 slices of prosciutto
A good handful of flat-leaf parsley roughtly chopped

Slice the ripe peaches in half and twist to open. Cut around the stone and cut the peaches in half again to create quaters. Brush the peaches with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the peaches on a hot grill and cook until nicely charred before turning to cook the other cut side of the quarters.

Peachy Peaches

Combine the rocket and parsley and spread out on a platter. Place the peaches on top and arrange the prosciutto strips around the peaches. To dress you can simply drizzle a little olive oil or if your peaches need a little flavour boost, add some lemon juice.

Peach & Prosciutto Salad

Chicken & Mango Salad
Mangoes have a strange control over me and every now and then I get cravings I must obey. This salad was the answer on one of those occasions.

For 2 people:
2 chicken breast fillets
1 tablespoon of olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper
2 ripe but firm mangoes, flesh sliced
2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
1 orange cut into segments
A dozen or so sugar peas or snap peas
1 red capscium sliced lengthways
Toasted sesame seeds to garnsih

Dressing
Juice of 1 orange
1 teaspon of multi-grain mustard
2 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil

Brush the chicken fillets with seasoned olive oil and cook on a hot grill for 4 – 6 minutes each side. Set aside to rest. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl except the sesame seeds. When the chicken fillets are cool enough to handle, slice diagonally into 1cm thick pieces and add to the salad. To make the dressing combine orange juice and mustard and add the olive oil very slowly, stirring to create an emulsion. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Eat and feel self-righteous for taking such good care of yourself.

Chicken & Mango Salad

Orange, Green & Purple Salad
In a fit of domesticity the lovely boy and I cleaned out the kitchen cupboard (or the “larder” as it is known on our floor plan) and discovered an enormous amount of pasta. The result of our efforts was both a lovely neat pantry with everything I need close at hand, and this salad. It was quite by accident but this salad was beautiful. My terrible photography and complete lack of photoshop skills don’t do this salad justice but truly, interior designers should take note as the colour combination made our kitchen table the most stylish in Tiong Bahru that night.

1 cup of conchiglie or any small macaroni type pasta
1/2 a red onion sliced very thinly
1/4 of a red cabbage also sliced thinly
3 handfuls of mixed greens
2 oranges peeled and chopped into 1-inch squares
1 can of tuna (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds for serving

Cook the pasta in a big saucepan of salty water until al dente, drain and toss in olive oil. Combine all ingredients except the sesame seeds. For pesca-phobes (like the lovely boy) you can omit the tuna but it really is the key to turning this salad into a meal. Dress with the orange and mustard dressing above and sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve. Step back and admire the beauty, then tuck in.

What to do when you discover a pantry full of pasta