3 Interesting Salads To Make This Week

I wanted to make salads sexy. For so long, they were seen as a sad side dish – a bit of limp lettuce, some soggy cucumber and a vinaigrette you made once then forgot about in the fridge. At The Salad Project, we wanted to flip that on its head. Our mission from day one was to show people that salads can be hearty, filling, joyful and genuinely delicious. They should be meals you look forward to.

The idea really took off during lockdown. People had more time to cook and started putting more thought into how food could serve them both mentally and physically. So when normal life resumed, expectations had changed. Suddenly, the lunch options most people relied on just didn’t cut it anymore. That’s when we knew there was an opportunity to give people something better – food that fuels a busy life but still tastes incredible.

There’s a formula to making a great salad. That’s the backbone of the book – a simple chart that mirrors how we build our bowls in the shop. You start with a base (leafy, grainy, or noodle-y), add a few toppings (roasted veg, fresh bits, pantry staples), then a hot premium (the star of the show – think halloumi, chicken or miso mushrooms), a cold premium (maybe cheese or avo) and finally the all-important dressing. Each element adds texture, colour and depth – but it’s the dressing that really brings it all together.

Dressing is where the magic happens. Most cookbooks tuck them away at the bottom of the page, but in ours, dressings come first. They’re your flavour bombs – and can totally transform the same set of ingredients. Take chicken, cucumber and lettuce: add a satay dressing and you’ve got something Asian-inspired; switch to a classic vinaigrette and suddenly it’s French bistro vibes. A good dressing is what makes a salad sing.

My ride-or-die is the Green Tahini. It started as a collab with food writer Christina Soteriou, but it’s now a permanent fixture at the shop – and in my fridge. It’s herby, punchy and full of good fats. I love it drizzled over crispy mushrooms or tossed through noodles with some kimchi and a boiled egg when I’ve got five minutes to make dinner. It doubles as a sauce and dressing – which is exactly the kind of multi-tasker I need on a busy weeknight.

When it comes to leftovers, again the dressing is your secret weapon. I sound like a broken record, but it’s the best way of turning a fridge full of leftovers into something exciting. Whether it’s leftover roasted chicken, egg fried rice or crispy potatoes, you can literally chuck anything together with some fresh veg and a zingy dressing. The worst thing you can do with leftovers is just reheat them and hope that a new sauce will make them taste better. They’ll be fine but adding a little fresh crunch – like cucumber, lettuce, or green beans – makes it feel fresh and vibrant. You don’t need to buy new ingredients – many of the dressings in this book use basic pantry staples and dried herbs. You’ve probably got half of them already. Just drizzle them over your leftovers with some fresh veg, and you’ll have a brand-new meal.

Some combos sound weird – but they just work. One of my favourites from the book is a cherry and blue cheese quinoa salad with a mustardy miso dressing. It’s sweet, salty, sharp and super satisfying. The cherries bring a juicy brightness, the blue cheese adds funk and the miso-mustard pulls it all together. It’s a great one for cherry season – but honestly, it works year-round.

When I’m short on time, it’s all about the 15-minute fattoush. It’s a vibrant mix of chopped tomatoes, cucumber and loads of fresh herbs – coriander, mint, dill – with crispy spiced pitta shards on top. I usually finish it with hot honey halloumi, which takes five minutes in a pan. It’s crunchy, herby, salty and sweet – and looks super impressive when friends come over, even though it’s basically just chopping and toasting.

Balance is key – I want to eat food that feels indulgent but is still good for you. Every recipe in the book is about real satisfaction. I want people to feel nourished and full – but also like they’ve had something genuinely exciting. And because the ingredients are often raw or roasted simply, the result is always colourful and beautiful.

Ultimately, I want people to feel empowered to make their salads their own. This isn’t a prescriptive book – it’s more like a choose-your-own-adventure. If you have a dressing ready in the fridge and a few bits in your cupboard, you’re already halfway there. The goal is to get people excited about salads again – to show them that with a little know-how and a lot of flavour, they can become the most versatile and delicious meals in your week.