From Alice Zaslavsky, one of Australia’s most popular and award-winning cookbook authors, comes a new cookbook, Salad for Days. Her previous book In Praise of Veg became an international bestseller which was translated into six languages.
Salad for Days is packed full of healthy salads for every time of the day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to suit every occasion.
To dress her salads, she has let her imagination fly and created an astounding number of 80 different salad dressings, which are conveniently listed at the beginning of her book.
To take account of the seasons, her book is divided into two parts: Warmer Days (from Spring to Summer) and Cooler Days ( from Autumn to Winter).
Alice Zaslavsky grew up in Georgia, a country known for its abundance of fresh produce and where plant-based recipes are very popular. Her family had a large vegetable garden. She has creatively reimagined some traditional Georgian dishes like Adjapsandal (a popular spicy Georgian Eggplant stew) and Phkali (a chunky Georgian dip) as salads. And has shared a recipe for an iconic Georgian spice mix, known as Svanskaya Sol which originates from a mountainous rugged part of the country. This spice is so precious to Georgians that it’s even been given UNESCO heritage listing. She has used it to spice up flat beans, but undoubtedly, it could be used to add flavour to many other vegetable dishes.
After immigrating to Australia, she was introduced to a whole new world of flavours and cuisines. Korean, Scandinavian, Indonesian, Chinese, Greek, Indian and Japanese flavours and ingredients have found their way into her recipes.
Recipes we have tried and loved so far are:
Asparagus and Radish Salad with caper vinaigrette: The asparagus season has just started so this recipe was a must try. A surprising ingredient in this salad was blue cheese which gave it an umami punch.
Kipflers and green beans dressed by Almondine. It was the dressing for this baked potato and green bean salad made with crispy capers, shallots, flaked almonds and lemon juice which made this salad so delicious!
Broccoli and cashew salad-fry. A tasty stir fry but served in a salad bowl at room temp. Alice jokingly compares it to eating last night’s stir-fry for breakfast. I can assure you it is way more tasty than leftover stir-fry from our local Chinese takeaway.
Devilled egg and baby spinach salad. Devilled eggs have made a comeback so why not saladify them thought Alice. A great idea as it saved me from the fiddly job of stuffing the eggs! And the devilled egg dressing surrounded with baby spinach and wedges of radishes and garnished with chives and dill looked so decorative on a large platter.
Cauli korma crown and cardamon brown rice: With its golden crust, a cauliflower roasted whole makes a magnificent centrepiece for a plant-based feast. It was more challenging and time-consuming than many of her recipes, but it was worth it.The aromatic Indian korma paste, which is rubbed into the cauliflower halfway through baking, is delicious, but if you are short time, Alice suggests that you buy some ready-made korma paste.
Salad for Days ticks all the boxes for a good cookbook. The vibrant colourful photographs make the salads look very enticing. The recipes are clearly laid out and easy to follow. The ingredients are readily available. And most are quick and easy to make.
For a healthy lifestyle we are encouraged to ‘eat the rainbow’ and incorporate more vegetables into every meal of the day. Serving up one or more of her luscious colourful salads each day is a great way to achieve that.
But what sets this cookbook apart is how very creative and downright delicious her salads are.
Reviewer: Lyn Potter
Murdoch Books