Gelf Alderson's River Cottage Great Salads, has a lot of beaut recipes for salads, but... it's English, and so some of it just doesn't apply to Australian cuisine, and more importantly, it's not making the most of the abundance of Australian produce that we enjoy here. No macadamias, no mango, and no avocado. (And certainly none of the scrumptious Australian native ingredients that are featured in Australian Native Cuisine by Andrew Fielke, though it's hardly fair to expect it to.)

I have another caveat too. I evaluated the recipes in terms of some 'salad facts' that I learned from The Conversation. The authors (who are nutrition experts) recommend six categories of ingredients to 'keep salad boredom at bay':

1. leaves, such as lettuce, rocket or spinach


2. something sweet and juicy, such as tomato, pear, mango, peach or whatever is in season


3. something with crunch, such as carrot, capsicum or broccolini


4. a type of nut, such as cashew or macadamia


5. a cheese, such as feta, bocconcini, mature cheddar, parmesan, edam


6. something fragrant, such as mint, parsley, basil or coriander.

And, they say, to make the salad into a complete meal, add macronutrients

1. a healthy carbohydrate source (pumpkin, sweet potato, parsnips, taro, brown rice, quinoa, barley or brown pasta)


2. a healthy fat source (avocado, olive oil, toasted seeds or nuts)


3. a lean protein source (eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, tempeh, lentils or legumes).

So, what does Great Salads have to offer? Is it worth the purchase price for an Australian cook? Yes, I think so... 'Salad boredom' is not going to be a problem with these recipes, and some of them do make a complete meal. And of course we can adapt the recipes to take advantage of the produce we have here too!



The Introduction

The book begins with the usual yada-yada and then there's a useful section on using seasonal produce. It's summer here right now, and most of what's listed is available at this time of the year except for gooseberries. Then there's a long section on growing your own vegetables and herbs, and a smaller section on foraging.

Then there's a useful section on Salad techniques, including char-grilling and barbecuing v roasting, and adding 'textural interest' with different ways of prepping the veg: ribbons and shavings; grated, diced; julienned and batons. (And it's true, how different even an ordinary salad can look if it's presented with a variety of shapes and textures.)

Then it's onto the recipes, which are arranged in seven chapters:

1. Quick


2. Hearty


3. Light


4. Spicy


5. Lunchbox


6. River Cottage Classics


7. Dressings, Pickles and Krauts

Quick means simple to make, serving two as a light lunch or four as a side. Most of these do not make a 'complete meal' but they're not intended to. Among the most appealing are:

• Celeriac (or fennel, which we have in the garden) rhubarb, hazelnuts and parsley (but toasting & peeling hazelnuts (i.e. heating up the oven) isn't my idea of simple.)


• Tomatoes and raspberries with mint (possibly with rivermint instead, and possibly with balsamic vinegar.)


• Cucumber, grapes, apple and almonds. (Yes, with fresh crunchy bread).


• Parsnip, chicory, orange and prunes. (I dunno about this one. Perhaps worth trying with some leftover parsnip.)


To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/12/09/river-cottage-great-salads-by-gelf-alderson/

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