Salads are cooking without pressure

Although the rain has returned with a vengeance, the idea of summer salads stayed with me. A good summer salad is not just a bowl of leaves. That is a sad desk lunch and we deserve better.

A proper salad is about balance, the kind that keeps every forkful interesting. You want crunch and softness, something sharp, something creamy, something that makes you pause and say, well now, that’s tasty.

Think of peppery rocket against sweet strawberries or buttery new potatoes tossed with a sharp mustard dressing.

Seasonality does most of the heavy lifting, if you let it. Irish summers may not be tropical, but they are generous in their own way. Tomatoes start to taste like themselves again, rather than watery imitations. Courgettes arrive with enthusiasm, often in such abundance that neighbours begin leaving them at your door like anonymous gifts. Fresh herbs flourish and suddenly everything smells like possibility.

When ingredients are in season, they do not need much coaxing. A drizzle of good oil, a squeeze of lemon, a bit of local honey and you are halfway to something lovely.

Colour matters more than we like to admit. We eat with our eyes first and a summer salad should look like it belongs in July, even if you are eating it indoors while listening to rain tap against the window.

Greens are only the beginning. Add the deep reds of ripe tomatoes, the golden glow of sweetcorn, the blush of radishes sliced thin. Throw in a handful of fresh herbs and you have something that looks cheerful enough to lift the mood of even the most committed pessimist.

There is also a certain freedom to salads that feels very satisfying. They are forgiving. There is no strict recipe to follow, no stern instructions from a grandmother hovering nearby. You can improvise. Leftover roast chicken becomes the centrepiece of tomorrow’s lunch. A chunk of cheese, a scattering of nuts, a spoonful of something pickled and suddenly you have a meal that feels both effortless and considered.

It is cooking without the pressure, which is perhaps why it suits the season so well. Of course, balance applies beyond the plate too. A summer salad should satisfy, not leave you rummaging in the cupboard an hour later looking for biscuits. A bit of protein, a decent dressing, something substantial like grains or potatoes and you have something that holds its own.

This is not about deprivation. It is about eating well, with a sense of ease.

So even as the rain makes its predictable return and the jackets come back out, the spirit of those sunny days lingers in the kitchen. A good salad carries that feeling forward, bright and fresh and quietly optimistic.

And in Cork, we will take optimism wherever we can get it, preferably with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt!