Tips For Making an Unbelievably Tasty Salad

Salads aren't complicated but they do require a little thought to make them truly interesting and delicious. If you're looking for ways to keep vegetables interesting in your meals, join Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall in his online Much More Veg classroom.

Many of us have memories from childhood of unappetising salads comprising limp lettuce leaves and floury sliced tomatoes lumped on a plate.

Recommended course

From $75Up to $220

Much More Veg

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Much More Veg taught by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Learn how to eat more vegetables and plant-based foods by taking the Much More Veg course on Learning With Experts.

View courseAll Food & Drink courses

Salad has come a long way since then, and then are some simple tips to raise your salad game. Firstly, because many salad components are eaten raw, the ingredients you use should be the best you can find and afford. Choose seasonal fruit and vegetables that are at their prime.

Also, consider how you chop your salad ingredients. Sometimes, a very simple salad tastes and looks more delicious when all the ingredients are chopped small, in equal sizes, or shredded.

If your salad leaves or other vegetables like celery are a little limp, simply refresh them in iced or cold water before you assemble your salad. A good soak, followed by a turn in a salad spinner, will make your leaves crisp and spritely again.

Add textures and flavours that sing together in harmony to make an unbelievably tasty and interesting salad that delivers variety in every mouthful. A nugget of chewy dried fruit or a handful of crunchy toasted seeds can transform a simple bowl of leaves into something exciting. Also include at least one ingredient that tastes sour or bitter.

Don't neglect the dressing – salad can be a dull old affair without a good one, so put some thought into making it interesting. A simple oil and vinegar vinaigrette is lovely, too, but a little extra flavour goes a long way. Shredded vegetables, for example, turn from simple to sensational when dressed in Southeast Asian flavours. If you're looking to add more flavour to your salads, Michel Roux Jnr. will teach you how to create a classic French dressing, a citrus dressing and a walnut dressing in his online course Classic French Cuisine.

Recommended course

From $75Up to $75

Classic French Cuisine: The Roux Way Part 1

Michel Roux

Classic French Cuisine: The Roux Way Part 1 taught by Michel Roux

Michel Roux Jr teaches classic French cookery skills. Enter the kitchen of Le Gavroche and learn French classic cuisine, the Roux way.

View courseAll Food & Drink courses

Make sure all your salad ingredients are completely dry before you add them to the bowl, otherwise the dressing will slide off.

So, here’s how to design the perfect cold salad.

1. Choose the vegetable base of your salad – this is the foundation, and you will add layers to this. Opt for different kinds of lettuce, soft herbs, baby or bitter leaves. Then, add a couple of star vegetables – these can be cooked or raw. For example, lightly cooked green beans or roasted broccoli can provide good contrast to raw ingredients, or interesting uncooked veg.

2. To turn your salad into something hearty, add a small quantity of starchy ingredients. There are unlimited options here: cold cooked pasta/couscous, noodles or grains (quinoa, bulgur wheat, barley and rye); cubes of fried potato or bread (sourdough or country-style bread are both ideal).

3. If you want to make your salad a nutritionally balanced meal, include some protein and good fats. Try small amounts of chopped meat (salami, prosciutto, crispy pancetta), poultry (shredded roast or smoked chicken or duck), fish (flakes of tinned or fresh tuna or tinned sardines), boiled eggs or fried/baked tofu. A touch of good fat adds another layer of flavour: try avocado (but add this at the very end or it might turn brown) or toasted nuts or seeds.

4. Is your salad missing colour? Different coloured chopped peppers, tomatoes, grapes or berries will make the salad even more enticing.

5. It’s wonderful to find hidden treasures in your salad: nuggets of chopped dried fruit, pomegranate seeds, small quantities of pickled vegetables (capers, radishes) or chunks of cheese (but add these at the end or it might disintegrate in the dressing).

6. When it comes to choosing a dressing, consider the leaves you’re using.Fibrous vegetables like kale need thicker dressings (tahini or ranch), while delicate salads call for light vinaigrettes. Jazz up a basic olive oil and lemon juice dressing by adding finely chopped herbs, chilli, capers, anchovies, olives, spices, miso paste, flavoured vinegars or oils, or crushed garlic. Toss with clean hands and don’t drown the ingredients: lightly anoint them.

7. Once you have added your dressing, check for crunch. If it’s lacking, sprinkle over croutons, shards of tortilla crisps or crackers, and toasted nuts or seeds if you haven’t done this already.

8. For a real salad centrepiece, decorate with flowers and/or petals. Many of these will all add gentle flavour as well as colour: nasturtium, borage, rose, dandelion, chive, marigold, courgettes, elderflower, lavender and sweet violet are all worth considering. (Make sure they’re from a trusted source, and that you are absolutely certain they are edible).

If you're big on growing your own veg, head gardener at River Cottage HQ will give you all the tips you need to get your plants from plot to plate.

Recommended course

From $75Up to $220

Eat The Veg Patch

Adam Crofts

Eat The Veg Patch taught by Adam Crofts

Learn how to eat from your own veg patch by taking the Eat The Veg Patch course on Learning With Experts.

View courseAll Food & Drink courses