What salad would you serve with this pesto pasta?

[gollyimholly]

I am making the prawn pesto pasta in the screenshot I've attached and wanted to ask opinions one what sort of salad I could serve alongside it? My guest isn't a fan of vinegar or mustard so my dressing options are limited. Many thanks in advance x

I just wouldn’t serve a salad 😂

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/greek-salad

This is my go-to salad. But not sure if it might be too much having tomatoes in both dishes?

Just get a box of salad from the supermarket and some garlic bread

Or just buy a bag of rocket?

ooh, yes to some garlic bread.

I’d just serve the rocket spinach and watercress mix, with cucumber and maybe some radish for a bit of kick. The pesto pasta is going to be creamy and rich so you just need something fresh and crisp to counter balance it

Lemon and oil dressing with some oregano? Green salad

Rocket, avocado and red onion. With extra virgin olive oil, salt, dried herbs, lemon juice, black pepper. Fresh and yummy

I'd just put a big bowl of sweet room temp strawberries on the table for pud.

But I think rocket is the other idea that works - rocket, black pepper, parmesan and olive oil.

I'd be tempted to do a veggie mix eg asparagus and brocoli. Normally I do it in pesto but obviously not if you've already got pesto going on

I’d do plain pesto pasta, prawns cooked separately, bag of rocket and fresh bread, dressing separate and suddenly the table looks filled and easy to avoid something if you want to.

Safe choice would be handful of rocket. Bold choice could be Gem lettuce and herb salad with maple lime and sesame dressing from Mezcla is so vibrant and delicious, and goes with almost everything. And it’s vinegar free.

Avocado, watercress and green beans, blanched, with olive oil, possibly a bit of lemon juice. keep it simple, you have a lot of flavour in the other salad.

I would just do garlic bread and some leafy salad.

Boiled green beans sautéed with a little tomato paste, garlic and olive oil while still hot, then served cool.

Prawns pesto cream and Parmesan? Really? Is this a thing? It seems really contradictory/OTT but I am happy to be told it’s delicious — have you had it before OP?
I love the classic Italian fresh pesto salad with baby potatoes and thin green beans.
then I’d serve the prawns in a kind of prawn cocktail way with some butter lettuce and a bit of avocado and an optional little bit of either Marie Rose/lemon wedge or an Asian type dressing.
some nice bread on the side.

Haha, I know, I completely appreciate it sounds weird, that's why I posted a screenshot of the recipe by the restaurant.

I've had it before at the restaurant and made it lots before and it's always been well received so I'm hoping the guest will like it too. She does love seafood and creamy cheesy things too.

You've just inspired me to make this for dinner, alongside some potato cakes. Delicious!

Thank you everyone for your replies. I think I'm going to go with @femfemlicious and @louderthan's salad ideas as I've got all of the ingredients in and I think I prefer a cold salad than the warm veg sides.

All the idea sound delicious though. I especially love the sound of @Sgtmajormummy and @toastofthetown 's sides and will definitely try them out for myself soon 😁

OP, I'd just do a very plain green salad with that. Dressed with an olive oil and lemon-juice dressing.

I’d just do a simple mozzarella, tomato and basil salad with drizzle of very good olive oil and some fresh crusty bread/foccacia

Not sure what sounds so weird about it

You wouldn’t normally mix cream with pesto in traditional Italian cooking. You also wouldn’t normally add Parmesan to seafood as it can overpower. But if OP likes the dish and knows her guest will, doesn’t matter I guess!

It's not 'traditional Italian cooking ' in any case and one of the strengths of the way we use food and ingredients in the UK is that there's creativity and experimentation and not being rigid. I've used cream and pesto lots of times and there's lots of areas in Italy where they do use parmesan with fish/seafood

i’d do a Greek salad, without the feta. The cheese plus al the other stuff going on in the pasta would be too rich.
keep the dressing as olive oil, lemon juice and mint

I would do a caprese salad (sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, basil if you have it but I assume there will already be plenty of basil flavour in the pesto) drizzled with a bit of olive oil. Maybe just some green salad leaves in a bowl (undressed). Olive oil and lemon plus salt and pepper for the table.