Tart London: 3 show-stopping salad dressings you can make at home

Salads are in the midst of a revolution. Gone are the days of mass-produced iceberg lettuces and under-ripe, tasteless tomatoes. People want great-quality ingredients, produced on real farms close to home, not on huge industrial units using chemical pesticides. Restaurants like 5 Hertford Street, Ottolenghi, Granger & Co and Petersham Nurseries make salads that are more than a side dish — they’re the main event.

This is partly because people have woken up to the links between a healthy, nutritious diet and a healthy, strong and beautiful body. But it’s also because more and more of us are realising how much fun salads can be: diverse and crunchy, with exciting tangy dressings and moreish additions such as cheese, nuts, herbs and grains. We are constantly coming up with new salads for our fashion industry clients — starting with a blank canvas, playing around with the textures and colours, and deciding whether to make them hot or cold.

But the real secret to a good salad is a show-stopping dressing. These are three of our favourites. There’s a tangy, gingery tahini dressing, which is ideal for Asian-inspired salads made from asparagus, broccoli and chilli, or with noodles and chicken, as well as a feta, yoghurt and coriander dressing, which is delicious on everything from roasted veg salads to grilled meat and can also double as a warming, Middle Eastern-inspired dip for crudités. And finally, there’s our rich and earthy classic smoked garlic dressing, delicious with crunchy lettuce, goat’s cheese and toasted nuts.

Give them a whirl — your salad will be topping best-dressed lists in a flash.

SWEET TAHINI AND GINGER DRESSING

2 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

Juice and zest of 2 limes

Squeeze of runny honey

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

Method

Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.

YOGHURT AND CORIANDER DRESSING

200g Greek yoghurt

80g feta

Zest of 2 limes

Bunch of coriander, parsley and chives

2 tbsp water

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper

Method

Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor.

CLASSIC SMOKED GARLIC DRESSING

2 smoked garlic cloves

Juice of 2 limes and zest of

1 lime

1 tsp honey

200ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Whisk all the ingredients together.

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