This summery-take on vitello tonnato that uses ripe summer tomatoes instead of veal with a tuna sauce is a Mediterranean holiday on a plate.

A new way to Lebanese salad, by way of Aalia.

A classic salad to channel those 'summer on the French Riviera' vibes.

Zucchini and buffalo mozzarella is all it takes to create a beautiful side dish for any barbecue.

Four ingredients are all it takes to create this sublime spring salad.

As delicious as it is beautiful, this citrus infused salad is the perfect addition to your spring menu.

When figs are this jammy, the only thing to do is to tear them, dress them up and turn them into your next dream salad.

Roasted apricots are surprisingly versatile, adding bursts of intense fruit flavour and acidity to whatever they meet, from breakfast dishes to leafy salads. In this starter they come cheek-to-cheek with fresh-tasting cream cheese and prosciutto.

There’s a surprise in every mouthful of this refreshing salad, yet the ginger-lime dressing has all the herbs singing to the same tune. The recipe is from Duncan Welgemoed’s book Africola.

Old-school fine dining meets 21st-century Thai glamour in this fresh take on steak tartare. Cucumber and lettuce take the place of the traditional crisp toast accompaniment, and the smoked chilli seasoning is oh-so-moreish.

For a casual summer lunch with friends – think outdoors in the shade of a Jacaranda – you can’t go past a chopped salad. Bill Granger’s version, from his book Australian Food, offers all the colours and textures of summer in a bowl.

A composed salad, such as this from Embla’s Dave Verheul, is a feast for the eyes and a breeze to make. Summer squash are the delicate centrepiece here, surrounded by a strong supporting cast of assertive flavours.

Charred cucumber lends a smoky accent to this bowl of quinoa, seeds, nuts and leaves – all of which are basically an excuse to eat more green goddess dressing. Mmm, creamy goddess goodness!

Fresh tropical southeast Asian flavours make this noodle salad the perfect go-to for your next barbecue.

Lobster is essentially culinary perfection in a very hard shell, so the secret to highlighting its excellence is to intervene as little as possible. Four other ingredients are all you need for this summer-by-the-ocean recipe.

Turn a roasted vegetable dish into a show-stopping side using spices and creamy labne.

Turkish mountain salad, also known as shepherd's salad, is a chopped salad of tomatoes, walnuts, herbs and pomegranate arils. This recipe is from Ibrahim Kasif of Sydney’s Stanbuli.

There’s tomato salad, and then there’s tomato salad to the power of ten. Analiese Gregory’s version from her latest book, How Wild Things Are, is exponentially more tomato-tasting than any you’ve grown up with. Bonus: ripe peaches and creamy curds!

Make the most of summer’s fragrant white peaches with this super-easy salad. When crisp-edged warm haloumi meets cold juicy fruit, expect an explosion in your mouth – it’s a flavour bomb.

Beat the heat with salad this summer. Watermelon and cucumber – crisp, thirst-quenching and refreshing – are natural allies in the fight to stay cool, and a Vietnamese-style dressing rounds out the collaboration.

Tomatoes are available all year round, but only summer tomatoes are truly worthy of the name – fragrant, juicy, popping with acidity and sweetness. This salad, accented with quick pickled shallots, highlights their seasonal perfection.

Sure, legume-based salads are a thing of virtue, packed with protein. But that’s not why we love them. Think of the cannellini beans in this recipe as a creamy blank canvas for daubs of big, big flavour.

This recipe is based on the classic reduction method: most of the stock evaporates during cooking, leaving behind tender garlic scapes and asparagus in a deeply flavoured buttery glaze.

Not all recipes from Michelin-starred restaurants translate easily to Australian home kitchens, but this one’s a cinch. At Paste, chef Bee Satongun roasts her own duck; to save time, start with one from Chinatown.

Who said anything about health benefits? The superfood factor might be one reason to love this salad of grains and greens, but we’d make it again and again for its snappy flavours and textures.

Almost too pretty to eat, this little arrangement of vibrant beetroot, delicate fennel and fresh fior di latte makes a perfect starter. Adding some thick spears of white asparagus would not be gilding the lily.

Light and perfectly dressed – this is the salad version of a Hollywood lead, ready for her close-up.