Author(s): Louisa Allan, Shuki Rosenboim

Cooking | Food & Drinks

Very Good Salads is a seasonal cookbook filled with salad and dips to accompany one very good falafel recipe. Very Good Falafel is a falafel bar in Melbourne, Australia, with a cult following. Every day, queues of locals wait patiently for a falafel plate or pita pocket filled with their choice of rotating salads, classic dips, and-of course-chickpea falafel, all served with a side of pickles and bread. It's simple, classic fare, but food that has earned owners Shuki and Louisa a place in Melbourne restaurant royalty. Very Good Salads shares the original, much-lauded falafel recipe for the first time, along with the café's most popular salads that change with the seasons. Making the very best of fresh produce, recipes include Israeli- and Mediterranean-focused salads that are as good on their own as they are stuffed into bread with a side of tahini. With an emphasis on vegetarian and vegan dishes, each salad makes use of the whole vegetable, with classic and less-expected pairings such as watermelon salad with za'atar, radish, and fried pita; peaches, basil, and hazelnut; and grilled leek with pomegranate, walnuts, spring onion, mint, dill, and lemon zest. There are also larger offerings such as silver-beet rice cake and stuffed tomatoes with saffron rice and dried mint. In addition, the book shares recipes for traditional dips and the ultimate pita recipe that produces flawless bread to stuff or serve alongside share plates.