“Effort-to-return is one reason I love salad-making,” writes Good Food columnist and ABC radio and television personality Alice Zaslavsky in the introduction to her latest cookbook, Salad for Days.

“It’s really more about assembly than too much cooking, and the magic comes in the sum of the parts.”

Here are three salad recipes from the cookbook, some ideal for lunch al desko and others for making a splash when you’re asked to bring a plate.

Shaved zucchini and edamame salad with pickled ginger

This is a dump 𝄒n𝄒 dress salad, so there’s no need to emulsify the dressing ahead of time. The raw zucchini cures in the sharp, warming dressing, but it’s still a surprisingly robust salad that will last a few days in the fridge – though it’s at its optimal point texturally at around the one- to two-hour mark, while the zucchini still has some bite. Pickled ginger can be a little bitter, so taste for balance and add a little extra sugar if needed. You could add soba noodles here to make it a more substantial meal-in-a-bowl. Mukimame are the podded version of edamame, and you should be able to find them in the freezer aisle. If you can’t, buy whole edamame and pod them after blanching.

INGREDIENTS

• 150g (1 cup) frozen mukimame (podded edamame) beans
• 4 small to medium zucchini, about 600g
• ½ cup roughly chopped coriander leaves and stems

Pickled ginger dressing

• 1 tbsp pickled ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp pickled ginger juice
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1½ tsp salt flakes

Final bits and bobs

• 1 tbsp wasabi peas, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle

METHOD

1. Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil, then tumble in the mukimame and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Peel long strips of zucchini on the diagonal, using a julienne mandolin or peeler. Put the zucchini, mukimame and coriander into a bowl and add the dressing ingredients straight on top, giving everything a bit of a mix, then set aside until ready to serve.
3. Arrange the mixture on a platter, drizzling with any leftover dressing from the bottom of the bowl, and dressing with some extra olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve straight away, or leave to soften and get friendly. Sprinkle with crushed wasabi peas just before it hits the table.

Serves 4-6

Cauli tabbouleh with lemony tahini and pomegranate

If grainy salads have been off the table at your place, rejoice! This is an easy recipe to make gluten-free by subbing in more cauli – some pulsed to “rice” and some kept finely sliced. If grains are a goer, then find some freekeh, which is lovely and nutty, go tradish with burghul (cracked wheat), or use up the box of couscous sitting in your cupboard. This salad will last two or three days in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

• 90g (½ cup) cracked freekeh
• ½ bunch mint, leaves picked and finely chopped, stems reserved
• 1 large ripe tomato, diced
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, diced
• 1 tsp salt flakes
• 1¼ tsp caster sugar
• ½ cauliflower, washed well
• ½ bunch curly parsley, ends trimmed
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 65g (½ cup) slivered almonds, toasted
• seeds of 1 pomegranate

Lemony tahini dressing

• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt flakes
• ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 125ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

Final bits and bobs

• lemon cheeks (optional)

METHOD

1. Bring 375ml (1½ cups) of well-salted water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Rinse the freekeh and scoop it into the pot with the reserved mint stems. Bring the water back to boil, cover, then drop to a simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, until the liquid evaporates and the freekeh is tender to the squeeze.
2. Meanwhile, put the tomato and cucumber in a bowl and mix with the salt and sugar. Set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes to extract excess juice. Once this is done, drain and reserve the juice. Fish the mint stems out of the freekeh. Pour the reserved cucumber and tomato juice over the freekeh and fluff with a fork, as you would couscous.
3. Place the cauli cut-side down on the chopping board and use a sharp knife to finely shave, following its shape. Collect the cauli and herbs in a large mixing bowl, along with the drained tomato and cucumber, spring onions, red onion, toasted almonds (keeping some for garnish) and half of the pomegranate seeds. Plonk in the freekeh, including any residual juices from the bottom of the pot.
4. To make the lemon and tahini dressing, put the lemon zest and juice into a small bowl with the tahini, garlic, salt and pepper and whisk well. Whisk in the olive oil, taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Pour the dressing into the large mixing bowl with the veg and fold everything together until glossy. Taste again and adjust the seasoning, especially noticing whether it needs more salt or acid (a lemon cheek or two to serve should set that straight).
5. Set the salad aside for 15 minutes to get friendly before serving, then give everything another stir and transfer onto a serving platter, finishing with the remaining pomegranate seeds and almond slivers.

Serves 4-6

Carrot and wild rice salad with marmalade dressing

I like to think of this salad as sunshine and rainbows. Adding marmalade to the dressing is sunshine: sweetness and bitterness in equal measure, with a golden colour that radiates against the stark whiteness of the ricotta salata. This is ricotta that’s been aged enough to harden, so you can shave it with a peeler or mandolin. You could also crumble it or finely grate it. If you can’t find ricotta salata at your local deli, use blobs of fresh ricotta and an extra pinch of flaky salt. The rainbow chard quickle (quick pickle) will last for up to a month in the fridge: use it as you would any pickle, for pops of acidity.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2-3 garlic cloves, bruised and peeled
• 200g (1 cup) wild rice, washed
• 2 bunches Dutch carrots, scrubbed
• 60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing
• 1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed slightly
• 1 bunch rainbow chard, stems trimmed and reserved for pickling, leaves torn

Quickled rainbow stems

• 125ml (½ cup) white wine or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt flakes
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 4 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 slice orange peel

Marmalade dressing

• 60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 thumb ginger, finely grated
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tbsp orange marmalade
• 40g (¼ cup) currants
• 1 tsp salt flakes
• ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Final bits and bobs

• ¼ cup loosely packed parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 50g ricotta salata

METHOD

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Tip in wild rice, bring back to the boil, then drop the heat to a gentle burble and cook for 45 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, slice the carrots in half lengthways and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the caraway seeds and some salt and pepper. Spread on baking paper in a shallow roasting tin and pop into the oven, then crank the heat to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional) and roast for 25 minutes or so until tender, tossing halfway through (these cook better if started off in a cold oven).
3. To make the quickled rainbow stems, combine the vinegar, 125ml (½ cup) of water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil on low to medium heat. Drop the heat to a gentle simmer for a few minutes. Slice the chard stems into 1cm half-moons, cutting any thicker stems in half. Place them in a clean glass jar or heatproof container with the spices and orange peel. Pour the hot pickling liquor over the stems and set aside to cool.
4. When rice is tender, drain well, discard the bay leaves, but keep the garlic cloves. Return the rice to the pot along with the chard leaves, a pinch of salt flakes and a glug of olive oil. Fluff together with a fork, breaking up the softened garlic, then pop the lid on and leave to steam dry for 10 minutes.
5. Make the marmalade dressing by heating the ingredients in a small saucepan, then gently simmering it, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and reserve.
6. When the carrots come out of the oven, pour the dressing over the carrots in the roasting tin, stirring about to combine with all of the pan juices. Tip the wild rice mixture onto a platter, then top with the dressed sunshine carrots and all of the pan juices. Garnish with quickled rainbow stems, parsley and shaved ricotta salata.

Serves 4-6

This is an edited extract from Salad for Days by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle. Murdoch Books, RRP $45.