Sunshine in a bowl: three springtime salad recipes from Kepos Street Kitchen’s Michael Rantissi | Australian food and drink

The secret to juicy corn is boiling fresh cobs for a good half hour. If you cook them for less time the corn “wrinkles” and has a drier texture. In a simple pasta and sweetcorn salad, like the one below, that extra liquid provides an essential contrast to the pine nuts and risoni.

It’s one of many Mediterranean salads we like to make at home that are meals in their own right. Another is our Salma’s Canteen Waldorf, named after my mother, which we sell at our cafe in Sydney. The fresh crunch and sweetness of apple blends well with the salty ingredients, and it’s an excellent dish to serve at barbecues or picnics.

One of my most requested salads is the eggplant, tomato and almond salad. I used to make it for my partner, Kristy, when we first started dating many years ago. Deep-frying the eggplant to a deep golden colour takes this salad to the next level, and the addition of almonds and pine nuts gives a great crunch.

Salads can be such an integral part of a meal. They can be a side dish, part of a meze, a quick snack or the main event – and there are endless variations. If you want to improve your salad game, my biggest tip is to visit local farmers’ markets and chat directly with the farmers about what’s in season. Master a few salad dressings, like the lemony one in the sweetcorn recipe below, and experiment often.

Sweetcorn and risoni salad with pine nuts and chilli – recipe

(Pictured above)

Serves 6

3 corn cobs, husks and silks removed
300g risoni
100g pine nuts, lightly toasted
Salt, to taste

Parsley and preserved lemon dressing
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 green chilli, stem removed
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 whole preserved lemon, including the flesh, chopped
½ cup (125 ml) olive oil

Place the corn cobs in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil, then cook at a rapid simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the cooking water.

Half-fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Add the risoni and cook for eight minutes, or to packet instructions. Drain, then cool under cold running water, straining off excess water. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Using a sharp knife, cut the corn on the cobs. Add the corn to the risoni.

Place the dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until you have a paste, but not a silky puree.

Mix the dressing through the risoni. Add the pine nuts and mix together well, then season with salt to your liking.

Enjoy warm straight away or serve at room temperature.

Eggplant, tomato and almond salad – recipe

Serves 6–8

4 cups vegetable or rice bran oil, for deep-frying
2 medium-sized eggplants, cut into 2 cm cubes
200g whole blanched almonds
⅓ cup (50g) pine nuts
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
½ bunch of chopped coriander
Juice of 2 lemons
3 tsp olive oil
Sea salt and cracked black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil to 170C. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop in a cube of bread; if it turns golden brown in 20 seconds, you are good to start cooking.

Fry the eggplant in batches for about eight to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Bring the oil back up to temperature. Fry the almonds and pine nuts, in batches if necessary, for about one to two minutes, until they are also golden brown. Set aside on paper towel.

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl with the onion, spring onion and coriander. Drizzle with the lemon juice and olive oil and mix to combine.

Add the fried eggplant, almonds and pine nuts, then season with salt and pepper.

Served straight away or at room temperature.

Salma’s Canteen Waldorf salad – recipe

Serves 6–8

6–8 celery sticks, leaves attached
2 large red apples
1 cup (100g) whole walnuts
½ cup (120g) dried cranberries
½ cup (120g) quality mayonnaise
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt