"They are celebratory assemblies for every season — from light springy affairs, showcasing the first nutty spears of asparagus or fresh garden peas teased from their pods — to the riotous rainbow of summer abundance."
Alderson has been working alongside Hugh Fearnly Wittingstall for about a decade working tirelessly to rethink and reinterpret the food people eat.
Fearnly Wittingstall says Alderson can turn out a splendid roast dinner or a tiered celebration cake "without batting an eyelid".
"But one of the main things I appreciate most about him is his extraordinary creativity with seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs."
"You’ll be eating them first and foremost because you can see they are going to be good for your taste buds."
Alderson says salads bring freshness and zing to the table and are always part of a meal at River Cottage.
"As well as culinary joy, you can derive incredible nutritional benefits from your salads. Leafy greens and raw veggies are superb sources of fibre, which helps feed the bacteria in your gut."
As well as the recipes in River Cottage Great Salads, there is a guide to growing your own salad ingredients, as well as suggestions on using herbs, edible flowers and foraged finds.
He has divided the recipes into quick, hearty, light, spicy and those best for the lunchbox as well as River Cottage classics and dressings and pickles.
"What is brilliant about salads is that veg takes centre stage, even if meat or fish is featured."
Alderson hopes the book will inspire people into the habit of eating at least one plateful of salad a day.
"A salad a day is definitely a great way to keep the doctor away."
THE BOOK
River Cottage Great Salads Gelf Alderson $42.99. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Fennel, celery and apple with creamy almond dressing
This salad is all about the crisp crunch of the fennel and celery, and the way these big bold flavours are tamed by the creamy almond dressing. Delicious on its own, it’s also a lovely accompaniment to grilled fish. The dressing goes with almost anything and keeps in the fridge for a week so I often make a double batch. Try dunking lettuce leaves into it ... delicious.
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side
50g almonds (skin on), roughly chopped
2 crisp eating apples, such as gala or Cox
2 fennel bulbs
5 celery sticks
A handful of pea shoots (about 40g)
For the almond dressing
100g almonds (skin on)
150ml almond milk or water
1 orange
60ml extra virgin olive oil
30ml cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove, peeled
Sea salt and black pepper
First make the dressing, a day ahead if you can. Put the almonds into a bowl, pour on the almond milk or water, cover and leave to soak overnight. (Or put the almonds in a pan with the liquid, cover and place over a low heat for 15-20 minutes to slightly soften them then leave to cool.)
Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the orange then stand it on a board and slice off the skin and white pith. Cut the orange segments out from between the membranes, remove any pips then place in a jug blender.
Add the olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic and softened almonds to the blender along with any remaining soaking liquid. Blitz to form a smooth dressing. If it’s a little too thick, add almond milk or water 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the chopped almonds and heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to take on some colour and release their nutty aroma. Tip on to a plate and allow to cool.
Quarter, core and dice the apples into very small cubes and place in a large bowl. Quarter the fennel bulbs, cut into 5mm thick slices and add to the bowl. Finely slice the celery into 5mm slices and add these too. Add half of the pea shoots to the salad, then trickle over the dressing and toss until all the veggies are nicely coated.
Transfer the salad to a serving platter and scatter over the remaining pea shoots and toasted almonds to serve.
Cheaty chicken Caesar salad
This is up there with the best-known salads in the world and it’s a great one for using up the leftovers from a roast chicken. Once the bird has cooled, I find hunting out those juicy morsels extremely satisfying and it always surprises me how much is left nestling against the bones!
Serves 4 as a main
2 slices of sourdough or good-quality wholemeal bread, crusts removed
2 Tbsp olive oil
300g cold leftover chicken, torn into pieces
1 Cos lettuce, divided into leaves
8 tinned or jarred anchovy fillets (MSC certified)
100g extra mature Cheddar
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
For the Caesar dressing
4 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 tinned or jarred anchovy fillets (MSC certified), finely chopped
½ garlic clove, finely grated
30g extra mature Cheddar, finely grated
Preheat the oven to 200degC/Fan 180degC. Tear the bread into pieces, toss in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Scatter the bread pieces on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven, drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool.
For the dressing, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, then taste to check the seasoning (the anchovies will probably have contributed enough salt).
Put the chicken and baked bread into a large serving bowl. Tear each of the lettuce leaves into 2 or 3 pieces and add them to the bowl then stir through the dressing.
Arrange the anchovy fillets over the salad and shave the cheese (using a peeler) over the top.
Swaps
For a lighter version, swap out the mayonnaise for natural yoghurt and add an extra squeeze of lemon to the dressing.
Quick pickles
This is a quick and hassle-free way of creating pickled veg in no time at all. In fact, these pickles can be eaten as soon as they cool down, but will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a month. This recipe works especially well with red onions, carrots, beetroot and cauliflower — or a combination of these. Pickled veg work brilliantly in salads, lending a bright, zingy contrast to salad leaves and other green veg.
Makes 250g
250g vegetables of your choice (red onions, carrots, beetroot, cauliflower or a mix)
200ml cider vinegar
200ml water
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of sea salt
Prepare your chosen vegetables: peel, halve and finely slice onions; peel and thinly slice carrots or pare them into ribbons with a veg peeler; peel and finely slice or dice beetroot; break cauliflower into small florets. Put the veg into a bowl.
Pour the cider vinegar and water into a saucepan and add the fennel, coriander and cumin seeds. Slowly bring to the boil over a low heat to infuse the liquid with the spice seeds, then remove from the heat and strain through a sieve into a jug to remove the seeds.
Pour the hot strained liquor over your chosen veg, making sure they are completely covered, and leave to cool.
Pack any pickled veg that you won’t be using straight away into a sterilised jar, making sure they are submerged in the pickling liquor. Seal with a tight-fitting lid, keep in the fridge and use within a month.
