The thought of eating a salad for lunch leaves plenty of people cold. Blame the uninspired bowls full of lettuce and little else served at cafes, pubs and even at home.

But kitchen superstar and regular Good Food contributor Julia Busuttil Nishimura is here to save salad – and perhaps your good intentions for eating better in 2025.

The cook and author is boldly making salads the centrepiece of her menu for this year’s Australian Open, and she’s confident customers won’t feel as if they’re missing out.

“They’re salads I love to make at home,” she says.

Grilled chicken with chickpeas, tomato, red onion and smoky eggplant is on the menu, along with a second option of grilled summer vegetables, goat’s cheese, salsa verde and the grain farro.

Available in the Garden Square precinct at the AO, each salad is loaded with colour, texture and hearty ingredients that will keep people sustained throughout a long day (and perhaps night) of watching tennis.

“You don’t just want some leaves. You want it to fill you up,” she says.

Following the same principles, this could be the year you learn to love eating salad for lunch – and maybe even dinner.

Make salad the main event

Stop thinking of salad as a side dish. To prepare a “main event salad”, follow Busuttil Nishimura’s three key principles:

1. It must be substantial, with enough hearty stuff packed in to fill you up.
2. It must have big flavours: think spices, salty things, fresh herbs.
3. And ideally, it must have longevity, especially if you want to take it to work for lunch. That might mean omitting the ubiquitous lettuce leaves most people associate with salads.

Stock up on salad saviours

Her golden rule for preparing salads you’ll love is to make it easy.

The first step is to stock your pantry and fridge with go-to ingredients that can lift your salad from lacklustre to lip-smackingly delicious.

Salad saviours that Busuttil Nishimura always keeps on hand include:

• Dijon mustard: great for dressings.
• Dairy: feta, parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, buttermilk (for dressings).
• Harissa paste: adds spice to roasted vegetables. Or you can swirl it through yoghurt and layer veg on top.
• Herbs: don’t be shy. Grab handfuls and tear them up.
• Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, beans (canned are fine).
• Nuts: toast briefly in the oven for extra flavour.
• Tahini: a great all-rounder for dressings of all kinds.
• Olives, capers, anchovies: tinned or jarred for pops of salty flavour.
• Vinegars: exciting vinegar equals exciting salad dressing. Try sherry, apple cider or white wine vinegar.

Prep once, relax later

Make your life easier by preparing some ingredients ahead. That doesn’t include pre-chopping vegetables, herbs or lettuce, which will all dry out or go brown.

It’s more about poaching a few chicken breasts so you can add them to salads throughout the week, or roasting vegetables that you can then build a salad around.

“Think about things that hold well that you can use a few times,” says Busuttil Nishimura.

Use a salad template

When creating salads, Busuttil Nishimura suggests thinking of building blocks that make up the whole. This is her five-part formula:

1. Hero vegetable: pick something that looks great at the shop (it’s probably in season), then add complementary veg.
2. Protein: legumes, tinned tuna, grilled or poached chicken, falafels, eggs.
3. Texture: breadcrumbs or croutons, toasted nuts or seeds, cheese for a soft contrast to crunchy veg.
4. Dressing: fat + acidity + flavour. Flavour-boosters include garlic, parmesan and mustard.
5. Optional: grains, bread on the side.

Some of her favourite salad combinations at summer’s peak are ripe tomatoes with peaches, green beans, red onion and toasted almonds; cabbage, cucumber, feta and dill; and grilled zucchini with buffalo mozzarella, mint, basil, pine nuts and cherry tomatoes.

More salad hacks

• Make it look as beautiful as any other dish you’d make – you’re more likely to want to eat it.
• Chop your veg randomly to create different textures. If everything is chopped the same, it will feel pretty boring.
• Dry your leaves well using a salad spinner or a clean tea towel. Your salad dressing will adhere better.
• Boost your dressing with something that complements your salad. It could be fresh herbs, mustard, a dried spice or something creamy. “The dressing brings it all together.”
• Dress your salad just before you’re about to serve it to avoid leaves becoming dark and soggy.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura has created menus for the Australian Open (January 6-26) and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 21-30). Tickets for both are on sale now.