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Cypriot grain salad remains the GOAT of grain salads.

Recipe collection

30 Christmas dishes that travel well (featuring the greatest grain salad of them all)

Your mission: to bring a celebratory dish that guarantees cheers. Relax! We’ve compiled the perfect easy make-and-take recipes, along with essential tips for mastering the festive potluck.

31 recipes
Dirty martini dip and mortadella olives.
EASY

Dirty martini dip and mortadella olives

  • < 30 mins
  • Katrina Meynink
Swipe some flatbread through this preserved lemon hummus with crispy spicy chickpeas.
EASY

Preserved lemon hummus with cumin and sumac roasted chickpeas

  • < 30 mins
  • Katrina Meynink
Miso and labne onion dip so good, you’ll want to hoard it at your end of the table.

Samin Nosrat’s miso and labne onion dip

  • Samin Nosrat
Eat the rainbow: Smoked trout dip with colourful crudites.
EASY

Smoked trout dip with crudites

  • < 30 mins
  • Danielle Alvarez
Cheese straws twisted with chilli crisp.

Emelia Jackson’s cheese straws with a spicy twist

  • 2 hrs +
  • Emelia Jackson
Hellenic Republic's popular Cypriot grain salad is packed with protein-packed lentils.
EASY

Hellenic Republic’s Cypriot grain salad

  • < 30 mins
  • Travis McAuley
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Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s tuna crudo with tomato vinaigrette and bruschetta.
EASY

Tuna crudo with tomato vinaigrette and bruschetta

  • < 30 mins
  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Helen Goh’s roasted spiced nuts with lime leaf and chilli.
EASY

Roasted spiced nuts with lime leaf and chilli

  • < 30 mins
  • Helen Goh
RecipeTin Eats’ prawn cocktail lettuce cups (and spicy margaritas).

RecipeTin Eats’ prawn cocktail lettuce cups

  • < 30 mins
  • RecipeTin Eats
Serve the dip with crudités and these crunchy, gluten-free seeded crackers.
EASY

Roasted carrot and sumac dip with sesame crackers

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Danielle Alvarez
Conservas platter.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s conservas grazing board

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Adam Liaw
A final flourish of herbs and peppercorns can be added to the salmon gravlax before serving.
EASY

Gin and lavender cured salmon with lazy horseradish cream

  • < 30 mins
  • Katrina Meynink
Forget an extravaganza. Serve up something homemade and heartfelt.

Seafood boil with champagne, lobster and prawns

  • < 30 mins
  • Adam Liaw
Tomato and olive tapenade tart.

Danielle Alvarez’s tomato and olive tapenade tart

  • 2 hrs +
  • Danielle Alvarez
Springtime pea galette with herby goat’s cheese.
EASY

Emelia Jackson’s herby goat’s cheese, leek and pea tart

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Emelia Jackson
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Adam Liaw's bagna cauda with fresh and pickled spring vegetables.

Fresh and pickled vegetables with bagna cauda

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
Roasted garlic, onion and lemon become the dressing for this simple lamb roast.

Adam Liaw’s roast spring lamb shoulder

  • 2 hrs +
  • Adam Liaw
Andrew McConnell makes this ham every year.

Spiced maple and amaro glazed ham

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Andrew McConnell
Green salad with cool yoghurt dressing.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s green salad with cool yoghurt dressing

  • < 30 mins
  • Adam Liaw
Watermelon, figs or nectarines would also work in this tomato salad.
EASY

Heirloom tomato salad with peaches, mint and smoky almonds

  • < 30 mins
  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Charred corn kernels coated in creamy, cheesy dressing.
EASY

RecipeTin Eats’ charred corn salad with creamy parmesan dressing

  • < 30 mins
  • RecipeTin Eats
RecipeTin Eats’ new favourite Christmas pumpkin salad.
EASY

RecipeTin Eats’ favourite Christmas pumpkin salad

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • RecipeTin Eats and Jean-Baptiste Alexandre
Crispy tofu and lemongrass larb.
EASY

Crispy tofu and lemongrass larb

  • < 30 mins
  • Jessica Brook
Jewelled potato salad.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s jewelled potato salad

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
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Potato and pickle salad.
EASY

Potato and pickle salad

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
Christmas joys.
EASY

Christmas joys (honey joys meet rocky road)

  • < 30 mins
  • Adam Liaw
Limoncello tiramisu.
EASY

Emelia Jackson’s limoncello tiramisu

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Emelia Jackson
Popping pearls add intrigue to this peachy trifle.

Peach Melba trifle

  • 2 hrs +
  • Katrina Meynink
Pavlova Barbara.

Adam Liaw’s pavlova Barbara

  • 2 hrs +
  • Adam Liaw
Emelia Jackson’s Basque cheesecake.

Emelia Jackson’s Basque cheesecake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Emelia Jackson
’Tis the season for Bring a Plate parties.

Alice Zaslavsky’s best ‘bring a plate’ advice

  • Alice Zaslavsky