The salad has an unfair reputation - everyone treats it as the „healthy bore" you have to get through. But in fact, with a few tricks, a summer salad can be the most interesting thing on the table, not the penance beside the main course.

The secret isn't in the ingredients, but in the contrast of textures. A good salad combines something crunchy (raw vegetables, walnuts), something juicy (tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit) and something creamy (avocado, cheese). When all three are on the same plate, a plain salad suddenly has character. Add something with deep flavour - quality tuna, mature cheese, mushrooms - and it's no longer a side dish but a meal.

Summer makes all of this easier, because it brings fruit that pairs perfectly with greens: watermelon, peach, melon, nectarine. The classic combination of watermelon, feta and black olives is proof that salty and sweet on the same plate work incredibly well. The same goes for melon with blue cheese or nectarine with avocado.

For those who want the salad to be a real lunch, the base doesn't have to be just leafy greens. Quinoa, bulgur, rice or legumes give a fullness that lettuce can't. Quinoa with cucumber, mint and parsley is light but carries you through the whole afternoon. And instead of the eternal vinaigrette, experiment with dressings - that's where the difference lies between a salad you eat out of duty and one you reach for yourself.