Overnight salad is our go-to for large barbecue parties. We make it the evening before, and that is exactly what makes it better than any last-minute salad: the mayo-yoghurt-garlic mixture soaks into the Chinese cabbage and the raw peas overnight. The result is a creamy, crunchy salad where the flavours have fully come together.
Overnight Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 15 ✓
- 200 g Cheddar
- 300 g sweetcorn tinned
- 1 Chinese cabbage
- 3 shallot
- 1 green pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 300 g carrot
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 300 g peas frozen
- 4 garlic cloves
- 200 g mayonnaise
- 300 g plain yoghurt
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground mixed peppercorns
Instructions 0 / 9
-
1
Cut the Cheddar into pieces, add to the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec / speed 5 and set aside. Drain the sweetcorn thoroughly.
-
2
Wash the Chinese cabbage, cut into strips and place in a large salad bowl.
-
3
Peel the shallots, halve them, add to the mixing bowl, chop for 3 sec / speed 5 and add to the salad bowl.
-
4
Wash the peppers, cut into pieces (remove the seeds), add to the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec / speed 5 and add to the salad bowl.
-
5
Wash the carrots, cut into pieces, add to the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec / speed 5 and add to the salad bowl.
-
6
Wash the parsley, pick the leaves and add to the salad bowl. Add the peas to the salad bowl. Add the sweetcorn to the salad bowl.
-
7
Peel the garlic, add to the mixing bowl along with the mayonnaise, yoghurt and salt, blend for 10 sec / speed 10 and pour over the salad.
-
8
Scatter the Cheddar over the salad, cover the salad well and refrigerate overnight.
-
9
Season the salad with pepper, toss well and serve.
Nutrition per serving
Why this salad needs to rest overnight
The 1440 minutes of resting time in the fridge is not a suggestion, it is a matter of mechanics. Chinese cabbage has a noticeably firmer cell structure than regular iceberg lettuce. The yoghurt-mayo mixture needs at least 8 hours to penetrate the leaves through osmosis. Before that, the salad tastes of cabbage plus dressing. After a night in the fridge, it tastes like one cohesive dish.
The raw frozen peas thaw during their time in the fridge and absorb moisture from the dressing as they do so. They stay crunchy but become softer than straight from the freezer. This only works with unseasoned frozen peas, not with pre-cooked tinned peas.
Cheddar timing: add it right at the end
The Cheddar is set aside after step 1 and only scattered over the salad at the very end, just before it goes into the fridge. There are two reasons for this: first, the cheese would clump together when mixed with the dressing and would not distribute evenly. Second, it releases fat overnight that combines with the mayonnaise and forms a slightly oily layer on the salad.
We therefore scatter it on only after the final toss. The 8 to 10 hours are enough for the cheese to release its flavour without falling apart.
Three-colour peppers: more than just looks
The combination of green, yellow and red pepper is not a decorative choice. Each colour represents a different stage of ripeness and therefore a different flavour profile: green is earthy and slightly bitter, yellow is mild and sweet, red is fully ripe and sweet. Together they create a range of flavours in the salad that a single colour could not achieve.
All three are chopped at speed 5 for 5 seconds. That is the point at which the pepper is small enough to combine with the other ingredients but still large enough to keep some bite. At speed 6 or longer, it turns mushy.
Garlic in the dressing: speed 10 is non-negotiable
The four garlic cloves are blended together with the mayonnaise, yoghurt and salt at speed 10 for 10 seconds. Speed 10 is not excessive here, it is necessary to break the garlic down finely enough that no noticeable fibres remain in the dressing. At a lower speed, small pieces of garlic remain that feel unpleasant on the tongue when serving.
The garlic releases its flavour into the mayo-yoghurt base during the time in the fridge. After 8 hours the sharpness is noticeably milder than directly after blending, but the flavour remains.
Pepper at serving time
The mixed peppercorns are ground over the salad just before serving, not before the fridge. The reason: in the moist environment of the mayo-yoghurt mixture, pepper releases its essential oils too quickly. After a night in the fridge it tastes flat and faint. Ground fresh just before serving, the aroma stays concentrated.
We grind it directly over the bowl, toss once and serve immediately. That is the final touch before the table.
Draining the sweetcorn properly
The tinned sweetcorn is drained thoroughly after opening. That sounds obvious, but it decides the texture of the salad. Tinned sweetcorn sits in brine that consists mainly of water, sugar and starch. If that brine gets into the salad, it dilutes the dressing and makes the salad watery.
We tip the sweetcorn into a sieve and leave it to drain for at least 2 minutes before it goes into the bowl. With 300 g of sweetcorn, around 50 ml of brine can easily remain otherwise.
After serving
Leftovers keep in the fridge, covered, for a further 2 days. The Chinese cabbage stays crunchy because it naturally holds a lot of water and does not wilt as quickly as leaf lettuce. After 3 days the dressing becomes thinner as the cabbage continues to release water.
Goes well with: Baguette.
Freezing does not work. The Chinese cabbage loses its structure when thawed and turns mushy.
