--- The Cook Up with Adam Liaw's third season airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.30pm. Episodes will be made available after broadcast . See Andrew Ballard making a sea herb salad in the 'Shoots & Leaves' episode on September 14. ---
Spending time thinking about the ingredients you toss into a salad is the best way to fancify it.
That's according to Andrew Ballard, owner and chef of catering company . "When people think about tricking up a salad, most will think of how to make it look beautiful," Ballard tells SBS Food. "But making food look nice is the easiest part of the equation. Making it taste good is much more difficult."
Ballard shares his tips on how to elevate a simple salad.
The greens
The most crucial element of any basic salad is the choice of greens, according to Ballard.
"Some people would just buy the mesclun mix from the supermarket, but it's all just flavourless with a nondescript colour. Fancying up a salad is all about flavour and balance."
For better flavour and colour, he suggests handpicking greens and herbs.
"In Victoria, where I'm from, there's so much growing everywhere this time of the year. Wood sorrel's one of those wild herbs. It's beautiful, edible and has a lemony and citrusy flavour."
Mark Olive and Rayleen Brown handling saltbush at Parrtjima festival's recent cooking demonstrations in Alice Springs. Source: Parrtjima
AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Fabulous food to be found in back streets and laneways
There's also a lot of chickweed in Victoria. He describes this herb as soft with an almost salty and bitter taste.
"You can also add sea herbs [which grow along the Australian coastline], samphire and crispy saltbush." Give it a try in his recipe for .
Calamari with foraged sea herbs Source: Kitti Gould
The dressing
For Ballard, dressing is to salad like salt is to meat. "Salt makes meat delicious. Dressing does the same for salad."
He thinks not enough people spend some time on the dressing. "They simply put a bit of olive oil and vinegar, maybe some mustard and honey and off they go."
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He thinks that taking time to thoughtfully pick the ingredients of a dressing is worth it.
"Think of the acid that matches the ingredients of the salad. What will go with it? Do you want something tangy like raspberry vinegar? Think of the olive oil you want to use. Will something grassy suit or something milder?"
Get the recipe for Adam Liaw's onion vinaigrette .
Try your hand at making your own salad dressing. Source: Danielle Abou Karam
The fruits
If fruits suit the salad, they can give it that extra oomph of flavour, texture and colour.
The perfect representation of making good use of fruits in salad is the Waldorf, says Ballard.
When I was an apprentice, I would sneak into the fridge and get little bowls of Waldorf salad.
"When I was an apprentice, I would sneak into the fridge and get little bowls of Waldorf salad. It's not fashionable at the moment, but it's delicious! You've got toasty, crunchy walnuts. The apples give you the tartness which contrasts with the yoghurt dressing."
Find the recipe for these individual Waldorf salads .
Waldorf salad is where the dressing's at.
He says that seeded chargrilled watermelon is another delicious addition to a salad.
"When you chargrill it, the seeds become toasty and get a pine nutty flavour," he explains.
"Don't leave the watermelon until it's sloppy and watery - just cook until you get a nice texture. Add it to chicken livers and panzanella, croutons and raspberry vinaigrette. Or you can just do a classic combo of watermelon and feta."
Texture x flavour
Ballard shares that one of the best ways to fancify a salad is to have a balance of textures.
"You get a crunch from the greens, but you'll get a different kind of crunch from nuts, like cashews or peanuts, and bread."
Get the recipe for this Middle Eastern quinoa salad .
Middle Eastern quinoa salad Source: Loving Gluten Free
Make sure though that the ingredients you add influence the flavour of the salad as much as they add texture.
"Fine whole grains also add a nutty, savoury flavour to a salad as well as texture. Quinoa, lightly boiled chickpeas and flax seed crisps are great ingredients to consider."
GIVE YOUR SALAD TEXTURE
Smoked paprika potato and chickpea salad
He says that while crunch gives an added dynamism to a salad, it isn't the only texture to consider.
"You also have textures like creamy. Adding things like goat's curds gives you a nice contrasting texture.
"Remember that salads are all about contrasts. You have the sweet and the salty, the acid in the dressing and the textures of all the elements. Elevating a salad is about thinking of all these things."
