Salads feature strongly in the eating habits of modem Australia and have been popularised by many of the world’s food cultures, offering contrasting textures, flavours and temperatures within the one dish. We have established a repertoire of exciting, spicy and tantalising salads in this country that has helped define our culinary status and inventiveness. With considered composition, a salad can be a spectacular, alluring and satisfying starting point for or feature of a meal. Much of the preparation can be done beforehand and it often takes only moments to complete the final cooking or assembly of a salad — a great bonus when cooking for friends or guests.