It’s true that cooking improves nutrition, even in fruit and vegetables. It makes foods easier to digest and it can even boost the dietary value by making the nutrients easier to absorb.
But isn’t there something fantastically rewarding in the bite of a raw carrot, the juicy crunch of fresh cabbage and the sweetness of freshly picked peas? The texture of raw vegetables is so immensely satisfying it makes them also taste better. And the ‘brain tingling’ ASMR discovered by TikTokers is exponentially stronger if you produce it yourself while eating, rather than watching videos!
No cooking, no hassle. And most vegetables are actually as or more delicious raw as they are cooked, with perhaps potatoes, parsnips and such excepted. Just take a look at these recipe ideas!
That’s right, you don’t have to even steam those gorgeous spears. Shaved raw asparagus with fresh dill, crunchy seeds and wonderful, creamy dressing is like eating spring thinly sliced into ribbons. Asparagus eaten raw is delicious!
In autumn, if you’re lucky or live in northern Italy (possibly one and the same thing), a fresh porcini salad with minimal seasoning can be an epic treat. Sliced porcini, aka ceps or penny buns only need a sprinkling of salt and a drop of olive oil.
Fresh porcini mushroom salad
RECIPE
Crunching celery stalks on TikTok is a thing, but they are much tastier (albeit less ASMR-y) with furikake, Japanese sesame and dried seaweed seasoning. This is the best way to use that bunch of celery that looks at you reproachfully from the vegetable drawer.
Celery salad with furikake
RECIPE
Kohlrabi is a lesser known vegetable, a cross between cabbage and broccoli, quite inexplicably as it’s delicious and grows very well in England. Find it in PYO farms or supermarkets with a wide range of veg. Kohlrabi slaw with creamy dressing is versatile and delicious. Try it instead of your regular slaw – this vegetable deserves more acclaim!
Not just raw but fermented as well – that’s a double nutritious whammy and joy to your gut. Fermented red cabbage with chillies and ginger can be made exactly like the white sauerkraut except more vibrant and crunchy.
All those fancy ways of cooking sprouts in order to make people like them? Don’t bother. Shaved Brussels sprout salad with toasted walnuts and Manchego cheese: the sprouts are raw, the walnuts are toasted and the cheese is mashed into a dressing. Feed it to a sworn Brussels hater and see what happens.
Shaved Brussels sprouts
RECIPE
Ditto courgettes: instead of inventing new ways of cooking them, serve raw courgette ribbons marinated with lemon and tossed with raisins, almonds, pistachios and nori flakes. It’s a gorgeous salad made with a vegetable peeler.
Fennel is lovely roasted or braised, but I much prefer it raw. Hence not one but two recipes for a raw fennel salad in this collection. Thinly sliced fennel lightly wilted with salt and sugar is gorgeous, and the homemade ranch dressing with chives and dill is the star of the salad.
Marinated fennel with ranch dressing
RECIPE
The other fennel salad is vibrant and juicily fresh, with citrus chunks and dressing. Thinly sliced fennel and segmented orange, with a few raisins to sweeten it is super healthy and very delicious.
Fennel and orange salad
RECIPE
Carrots are the healthiest snack, all the better for the time it takes to munch one! For dinner it’s better to grate them into zingy carrots, a salad exploding with flavour. It takes minutes to prepare and goes well with any main course.
Best made with new season, smaller beetroot or one of the more delicate varieties like Chioggia, raw beetroot salad with a simple dressing, grated cheese and lots of fresh herbs is healthy and delicious.
Everyone’s favourite vegetable can be eaten raw, in the salad packed with fragrant Asian flavours in garlic and sesame dressing. Make sure you divide the brocs into small florets so it marinates thoroughly.
Cabbage cooked v. cabbage raw – the latter is a hands down win with me. Although, to be fair, the times of smelly boiled cabbage are thankfully long gone, spring cabbage salad is a welcome change from lettuce or mixed greens. It's perfect for BBQ, easy and incredibly healthy.
I’m sure the Welsh already know that leeks are super tasty raw, sliced into a simple salad with cucumber and radish, seasoned with black pepper and honey. Leeks are incredibly healthy when eaten raw, did you know?
Celeriac, that ugly brute, is very good thinly shredded, dressed with a remoulade sauce. Celeriac, carrot and apple with creme fraiche and wholegrain mustard dressing is a seasonal winter salad and a great side dish for seafood.