Summertime and the lemon is squeezy: Alice Zaslavsky’s surf club salad with iceberg, tomatoes and citrus

Surf club salad

(Pictured above)

This is a particularly Aussie salad – familiar to those who spent summers doing Nippers (junior life saving) or any other kind of summery activity by the beach. Usually the orange would be slipped off to the side as a bit of a half-time hit of acidity, but I’ve incorporated it into the combo as you might in a fennel and citrus salad, which, incidentally, could totally work here too. You’ll notice that I’ve left off the olive oil until the final bits and bobs, because adding the oil too early makes for limp lettuce. Popping it on the table is not only better for endurance, it also means people are up and about, serving themselves and each other, interacting and reminiscing about summers by the beach (or, if you’re nowhere near Australia, Home and Away ).

Serves 4 to 6

1 orange
1 iceberg lettuce , soaked in cold water
250g cherry tomatoes , quartered, or 250g tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 small red onion , thinly sliced
½ cup loosely packed parsley leaves , coarsely chopped
½ lemon , to serve
Extra virgin olive oil , salt and pepper , to serve

To segment the orange, lop off the top and bottom for a steady base, then follow the line as close to the edge of the pith as possible, to unleash the flesh. Slice into each segment at a 45 degree angle (if this is your first time, don’t worry: it gets easier, like learning to dive into the waves). Reserve the orange skeleton for serving.

Drain the lettuce, remove any mangy outer leaves, trim the core flat and put the whole thing in a salad spinner. Give it a few bursts to spin-dry, then dry well by gently patting with a clean tea towel. Cut the lettuce into thin wedges, keeping the core attached.

To serve, place the lettuce wedges in a large serving bowl and tumble in the tomatoes, onion and orange segments and sprinkle with the parsley from a height. Put the lemon half, orange skeleton and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil on the table along with the salt and pepper so guests can serve themselves.

Easy peasy spring salad with parmesan vinaigrette

Come springtime, a version of this makes its way to our table weekly. When fresh peas and broad beans are bountiful, set aside some time to pod them yourself, or buy some prepodded. Equally, you could make this later in the season, towards cooler days, using frozen peas and broadies too. Smaller broad beans early in the season don’t need double podding; otherwise, do put the time in for the second pod, lest you serve up blister skin (yuck, sorry).

The parmesan vinaigrette is very versatile as well. Drizzle it over bitter leaves such as radicchio, or keep it as a little dipper for lightly steamed crudités.

Serves 4 to 6

200g broad beans , podded
100g peas (frozen or fresh)
100g snow peas , topped
100g sugar snap peas , topped
½ salad onion , finely sliced with the grain
100g snow pea sprouts
1 bunch watercress (about 100g), ends trimmed
¼ cup mint leaves , finely sliced
¼ cup parsley leaves , finely sliced
10g parmesan cheese , to serve
Cracked pepper, to serve

For the parmesan vinaigrette
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1–2 garlic cloves , minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
60ml extra virgin olive oil (¼ cup)
25g parmesan cheese , finely grated

To make the parmesan vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and tumble the podded broad beans in, then bring back to the boil for two to four minutes, depending on their size, until no longer chalky through the middle. Scoop out into a bowl and reserve.

Drop the peas into the boiling water and cook for four minutes – whether they’re fresh or frozen. Pop the snow peas and sugar snaps into a heatproof colander in the sink and pour the boiled water and peas over the top for an easy blanch. Once the broad beans are cool enough to handle, squeeze the flesh out of the skins by finding the crack and pushing towards it. Set aside.

To serve, give the vinaigrette a quick zhoosh with a fork to reincorporate. In a large bowl, toss the greens through the vinaigrette, then combine with the onion, snow pea sprouts, watercress, mint and parsley just before serving, warm or at room temperature. Grate a final puff of parmesan over and finish with cracked pepper.

Celery and blueberry salad with maple pecans and ranch dressing

This salad goes all in on North American flavours, with a blue cheese ranch and maple pecans that balance out the funky, creamy saltiness. I like having garlic powder in my salad dressing arsenal, especially for creamy ones, because it cuts through anything too rich. Berries, particularly blueberries, are worth keeping in mind for adding pops of acidity, sweetness and colour into salads – sweet and savoury! Blueberries are always best served chilled.

Serves 4 to 6

1 small fennel bulb, fronds reserved
2 celery stalks
1 celery heart , yellow leaves reserved
1 small white salad onion, sliced in half
½ cup loosely packed parsley leaves, roughly chopped, reserving the stems
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
125g large blueberries

For the salted-maple pecans
25g pecans (¼ cup)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 pinch salt flakes

For the blue cheese and buttermilk ranch dressing
90g blue cheese
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
65g sour cream (¼ cup)
125ml buttermilk (½ cup)
¼ tsp salt flakes
1 tsp maple syrup
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped reserved parsley stems
Scant ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tbsp finely chopped chives , plus extra for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.

Finely shave the fennel, celery stalks, celery heart and onion with a mandolin, keeping with the shape of the fennel and the onion, and shaving the celery on the diagonal. Pop into a salad spinner with the celery leaves, fennel fronds, parsley and plenty of cold water with a splash of apple cider vinegar and place in the fridge while you make the dressing and salted-maple pecans.

To make the salted-maple pecans, line a small baking tray with baking paper. In a bowl, toss pecans together with the maple syrup and a pinch of salt flakes and spread on to the baking tray. Toast in the oven for five minutes, keeping an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. Remove and set aside to cool and crisp up.

To make the dressing, put all the ingredients except the chives into a small blender and blitz until smooth. Fold in the chives and set aside.

Just before serving, halve the blueberries horizontally to reveal the tiny star inside. Drain and spin the veg in a salad spinner. To make the vegetables super dry and dressing ready, scatter the veg across a clean tea towel, roll it up and gently pat.

Tumble the veg and blueberries together into a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with the dressing (if you have extra, reserve in a jug for serving), scatter with salted-maple pecans and extra chives, and finish with a flourish of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt flakes and freshly cracked pepper.

• This is an edited extract from Salad for Days by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle. Available now through Murdoch Books (A$45)

• Alice Zaslavsky’s new series, A Bite To Eat with Alice, premieres Monday 28 October at 6pm on ABC TV and ABC iview