Linger - Salads, Sweets, and Stories to Savor by Hetty Lui McKinnon

    • Categories: Dressings & marinades; Rice dishes; Salads; Appetizers / starters; Main course; Fall / autumn; Winter; Vegan; Vegetarian; Gluten-free
    • Ingredients: kabocha squash; ground ginger; ground coriander; garlic powder; maple syrup; black rice; red onions; baby spinach; cilantro; fresh ginger; garlic; white miso; rice vinegar
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Notes about this book

  • mackenzie301247 on January 24, 2026

    Find myself flicking through this and finding new recipes of interest constantly. As a certified salad avoider, I'm shocked at how appealing and interesting this has been for me.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Ginger-roasted kabocha with black rice and ginger-miso dressing

    • Ganga108 on September 02, 2025

      I have the oven on to roast the mushrooms for the quinoa-mushroom salad, so am using the opportunity to roast butternut (as the alternative to kabocha) for this salad. It can be roasted ahead of time. The dressing is wonderful.

    • AnikaLavine on January 19, 2026

      This was a phenomenal recipe! Loved the flavor. I personally felt like 1 cup of rice was waaay too much. I probably used just over half. Also even though you can eat the skin of the kabocha, I felt the texture of the salad was better without.This recipe will be on rotation in our house!

    • ellen_gvlooi on May 13, 2026

      first time trying kabocha squash and loved it! dressing is so good, would make for other salads as well. kept the skin on the kabocha, which I thought gave it some good texture

  • Charred gai lan with black-eyed peas and chile crisp vinaigrette

    • Ganga108 on January 04, 2026

      Cooked up some dried black-eyed peas/beans in the Instant Pot for this dish, and used some green beans (charred) and spinach instead of the Asian greens. The chilli crisp vinaigrette is quite special, and something I'll use in other dishes as well.

    • ellen_gvlooi on March 22, 2026

      subbed baby bok choy for some of the gai lan first time eating black-eyed peas!

  • Yo po spicy rice cake salad

    • Katie on March 05, 2026

      Maybe too much oil for me, but delicious flavors and textures

    • Kfaber on May 30, 2026

      I loved these rice cakes—so delicious and full of flavor. Greens were a nice complement

  • Turmeric daikon pickles (Danmuji)

    • michalow on November 27, 2025

      Good flavor, a little too sweet.

  • Slow-and-spicy tomatoes with pearl couscous

    • FieryFantail on March 03, 2026

      Next time I would reduce the cooking time of the tomatoes (or use a slightly smaller pan!) This was a really nice as a side.

  • Whole roasted cauliflower with a mountain of dill

    • Hellyloves2cook on April 29, 2026

      Very nice but needs more of the tahini sauce. March 2026

    • Pandan on May 04, 2026

      This was ok but the cauliflower wasn’t that flavourful all over. Also it was still a bit too hard on the inside. Not that impressive

  • Tofu and kale with sweet peanut sauce

    • ellen_gvlooi on April 13, 2026

      really easy and ideal combo. served this with multigrain mixed rice

  • Gruyère, jalapeño and scallion mochi balls

    • Hellyloves2cook on March 01, 2026

      Made these for my son and his girlfriend when they came over for dinner. The dough was too wet to make into balls and they flattened out in the oven to resemble chunky cookies. I made my own glutinous rice flour by rinsing and soaking sushi rice and allowing it to dry thoroughly before using my vitamix to blend into flour. Substituted the gruyere cheese with pecorino hard cheese ( sheep cheese works as my family cannot tolerate dairy from cows) These had a polenta feel and taste to them. Best served with a condiment as they were quite dry. Im am sure Gruyere would have resulted in a better texture. Would I make again. I think I would. My husband or son didn't particulary rave about them though.

  • Master cashew cream

    • Ganga108 on September 21, 2025

      This is a great cashew cream guide - a basic recipe with some great options for sweet and savoury versions. I'm making the one with chilli crisp. As Hetty points out, cashew cream is not just for vegans - she loves it in its own right for its lightness, complex nuttiness and buttery texture.

  • Fennel salad with pickly dressing

    • Ducksinarose on March 11, 2026

      Refreshing, easy, and delicious. I didn’t add grapes but I’m sure this salad would have been better with grapes. I will definitely make this again.

  • Potato and sumac salad

    • helenjean on March 28, 2026

      I took a big bowl of this to a lunch today - added crumbled feta. Loads of herbs - it was delicious. I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I've made it. Such a light refreshing version of potato salad!

  • Mapo tofu salad

    • Breannetuttle on March 28, 2026

      First time using black bean paste. The sauce was good but I think it got diluted with the excess water in the cabbage. I didn’t want cook the cabbage too long and gave it get mushy. Next time I’ll make a point to remove some of the water. It’s a good way to get people to eat cabbage!

  • Potato and scallion flatbread

    • Gnomesandmushrooms on March 28, 2026

      Needs more salt, but otherwise truly delicious. Brished with melted butter after cooking.

  • Spicy bean curd skin, crunchy veg and vermicelli salad

    • dakota_dqnii0 on January 12, 2026

      Definitely add flakey salt to finish or it will taste flat! I could ALMOST use more dressing, but it ended up being enough.

    • mackenzie301247 on January 24, 2026

      Easy and tasty salad, and a relatively balanced meal for lunches as well (protein from bean curd skin, vermicelli for carbs.) I halved the sauce recipe to fit in with my New Year's health resolutions but I would not do this for any other reason as it would have benefited from that extra. Would make again.

  • Roasted Brussels sprouts bowl with preserved lemon-white bean whip

    • FieryFantail on December 12, 2025

      I added a squeeze of lemon juice over the top

    • ethacher on January 20, 2026

      Delicious! Added some whole marinated white beans as well and pickled the radishes. Also used more preserved lemon and garlic than called for, plus regular lemon juice

    • ellen_gvlooi on April 16, 2026

      preserved lemons can do no wrong

  • Vegan dan dan salad

    • michalow on November 20, 2025

      This was a good base, and with some additions made a nice meal. On its own, I found it a bit boring. Added some roasted butternut squash and topped with a fried egg and a vinegary, cilantro-y cabbage slaw for some more acid and crunch.

    • FieryFantail on January 23, 2026

      I added sweet potato and tofu

    • mackenzie301247 on January 24, 2026

      I've made this twice, and find it adaptable and tasty, but nothing mind blowing. Definitely more of a side than a main event. Good to use up any Asian greens you have lying around.

    • erica_e80ss1 on March 20, 2026

      Endlessly adaptable, easy, delicious

    • drew_b4af58 on April 26, 2026

      I added some fresh radish to the top for a nice crunch!

  • Bibimbap-style gnocchi with gochujang vinaigrette

    • Breannetuttle on January 28, 2026

      I loosely made this - followed the recipe for the vinaigrette and everything else was made up. The vinaigrette was good but I did add a bit more of the gochujang sauce to the mix to punch it up. I used cabbage and carrots instead of every veggie listed, haha. Turned out fine!

    • TheresaH on April 07, 2026

      This was delicious. Left out the bean sprouts because I couldn’t locate in my area. Would make again.

  • Asparagus and tofu with spiced coconut

    • Katie on May 19, 2026

      I used a bunch of Thai basil and cilantro in this since it’s what I had, and it was delicious.

  • Easy beets and lentils with tahini-yogurt and candied nuts

    • Hellyloves2cook on April 29, 2026

      Very nice. A number of components to this recipe in order to create this dish. but once you've put aside time it's not difficult to do.

  • Spiced chickpea and lentil salad

    • mackenzie301247 on January 24, 2026

      Healthy, easy to make, and good for meal prep. Needs a hefty dose of flaky salt to balance.

    • Pandan on May 04, 2026

      I made this for a family visit. It was ok but somehow wasn’t a huge winner. It was a lot and everyone only ate a small portion of it. Also turned out a bit dry.

  • Pickled mushrooms with quinoa

    • Ganga108 on September 02, 2025

      Making this with the chickpea substitute for the quinoa as I already have some cooked. UPDATE: The mushrooms are phenomenal. Make double and keep them in the fridge for use on their own or in salads and other dishes. UPDATE 2: I took the leftover salad (with the chickpea substitute) and added a whole lot of wilted greens including red and green cabbage, and a pile of extra parsley. Delish. A very versatile dish.

  • Cold eggplant salad

    • Ganga108 on August 30, 2025

      Excellent dish with rice, stir fried veg and sauteed tofu cubes.

  • Kohlrabi and lentils with preserved lemon and basil

    • lily_z5lwe7 on February 19, 2026

      Good and light! I could see adding burrata or feta but great as is.

  • Roasted baby carrots with cannellini beans and carrot-top chimichurri

    • Gingko on November 13, 2025

      This was good, but I’m not sure I’d make it again. I had assumed that the beans would be warm versus in a salad

    • Hellyloves2cook on March 02, 2026

      Made this for a dinner party for my son and his girlfriend. I pre roasted the carrots the night before. Soaked my raisons too. My husband made the chimichurri sauce. Once those were out the way, the rest was quick to prepare before all goes into one bowl and then mixed together. We all loved this! Zingy and full of flavour. Its a cold salad which will go well with protein of your choice. We served lamb backstraps for the meat eaters.

    • JanayBlaze on April 13, 2026

      Made this to go alongside a ham. It was delicious!

  • Salt-and-vinegar potato salad

    • jo_shayne on December 03, 2025

      I fried the onion very slowly in olive oil. Didn’t need more vinegar for our taste. Generous for 4 (as a side)

    • Hellyloves2cook on April 29, 2026

      Have made this twice now and they were well received by all that were invited over for dinner.

  • Shawarma zucchini with peas and tofu green goddess

    • helenjean on January 15, 2026

      Love this. The zucchinis are mouth watering and the green goddess sauce amazing. So fresh!

    • Hellyloves2cook on March 02, 2026

      I used my homegrown zucchini and herbs for this dish. The tofu green goddess sauce was delicious and quick to make in the Vitamix. I made this last night (along with two other dishes from this cookbook), for my son and his girlfriend when they came over.. Another big Hettie hit. Easy to make and super easy to eat. We all liked this.

    • Hellyloves2cook on April 29, 2026

      Another dish that I have made twice . The green goddess dressing is so easy to make. It used up some of the courgettes (zucchini) that we were growing in the garden. The most time consuming was grilling them. Worth it though as people that we have made this for loved it.

  • Sweet, sour and spicy mushrooms with brown rice

    • Katie on November 22, 2025

      The amount of cornstarch seems high but it’s right! This is now one of my favorite ways to make mushrooms.

  • Green beans, caponata style

    • hannah_06xygv on January 22, 2026

      Delicious tangy spicy but simple way to use up veg. My changes: I added a cut up chicken breast and sliced zucchini, and threw in a tin of lentils at the end. Next time I’d add garlic as my harissa isn’t very garlicky, and use a better quality red wine vinegar.

  • Kung pao cabbage with tofu

    • christineakiyoshi on December 08, 2025

      I was excited for this but not as good as expected. 3 stars

    • dakota_dqnii0 on January 13, 2026

      I used chili oil I had instead of all the peppers. The inspiration was great for an easy dinner.

    • ellen_gvlooi on February 24, 2026

      I love cabbage <3 baked my own tofu and roasted cashews while prepping everything else

    • anothersarah on April 19, 2026

      I was looking forward to this but agree it was not as good as expected. The cabbage was delicious but I found the dish a little ginger heavy overall. I might have needed to grate it finer. The tofu and sichuan peppercorns didn't add to the dish for me.

  • French onion salad

    • jo_shayne on November 30, 2025

      Would also be very good with roasted pumpkin

    • TheresaH on January 24, 2026

      I really enjoyed this salad. Subbed beef broth for veggie broth because that’s what I had. Would make again.

    • mara_965ssy on February 15, 2026

      This hit a lot of spots. I made 1.5x the dressing and added another handful of arugula. Used real butter cuz I’m not vegan but stayed pure for the rest. The onions are delicious but won’t be breathing in anyone’s face for a bit.

  • Coronation cauliflower and chickpeas

    • pomona on September 05, 2025

      Substitutions and ommisons: no mango chutney or parsley in the house, finely sliced cauli stem instead of celery (didn't have any). I only had a wee tin of chickpeas so the cauli/chickpea ratio was probably a bit out of balance. Regardless, it was great. A big bowl of comfort for the transition from the cold to the warm months.

    • gootenbeez on October 25, 2025

      Used 1 can chickpeas and 1 can canellini and Spicewalla Madras curry powder and some Brooklyn Dehli garlic achar for the chutney. Subbed whole milk plain yogurt because I didn't have greek thought if I wasn't lazy I would have mixed in a little sour cream or labneh. I I would add some more apricots next time or add a handful of raisins.

    • janetjanetjanet on February 04, 2026

      What a delightful easy meal. Doesn’t feel heavy at all. Ate it with flatbread. Might add a boiled egg next time. Used madras curry powder, subbed carrots for celery, raisins, reg yogurt, no herbs, chopped toasted almonds, no chutney

    • FieryFantail on April 21, 2026

      Great filling for lunch wraps. The roasted chickpeas provided satisfying crunch alongside the celery.

    • babyapricot on May 14, 2026

      Delicious! Left out the nuts but included the chutney, subbed golden raisins for the apricots and pickled them a bit with the onion and celery. Absolutely delicious in a wrap with arugula for an easy meal prep. Half recipe lasted me 4 meals this way.

  • Sunchoke and cannellini beans with never-ending tahini sauce

    • dakota_dqnii0 on January 23, 2026

      Loved the texture of the sunchokes. Will definitely make again! Needs lots of salt on the beans.

    • Hellyloves2cook on March 02, 2026

      Not being able to access jerusalem artichokes in summer in NZ, I substituted them with kumara. I love salady dishes with herby sauces. This one did not disappoint. My husband cooked some white fish to serve this with. It is a recipe that is easily tweaked - use whatever beans /veggies you have to hand.

  • Roasted grapes and feta with grains and kale

    • lou_weez on October 11, 2025

      Soo good!!! Made it with brown rice and actually forgot to add the extra vinegar and oil at the end and it was still delicious. Will definitely be making this again.

    • Emily Hope on March 04, 2026

      We liked this quite a bit -- I used farro. Can't remember if I used kale or arugula for the green. We used goat cheese instead of Feta as that's what I had -- would probably do it that way again.

    • anothersarah on March 31, 2026

      This was really good. The roasted grapes were a little acidic for me but otherwise all the elements blended together nicely. Might be even better the next day and with a high quality balsamic.

  • Stuffing salad

    • elisa_m95b99 on February 06, 2026

      As a certified lover of stuffing , I loved this ! A fun way to reinvent a classic

  • Carrots with mole encacahuatado

    • Hellyloves2cook on April 29, 2026

      My husband made this for dinner - It was very spicy (heat wise) but nice. March 2026

  • Soba with roasted Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and maple-soy sauce caramel

    • Barb_N on December 30, 2025

      Pure serendipity that I found this recipe. I planned to make a soba noodle/salmon ‘salad’ with left over roast salmon, and needed to use the Brussels sprouts in the fridge. I was unsure how to make these components into a meal when the forward of this new to me cookbook mentioned Brussels sprouts and one of the 3 recipes included soba noodles. Easy enough to add flaked salmon and tada! The ingredients worked together with the sweet salty caramel sauce. I’ll try other vegetable; this makes a lot more sauce than needed for one recipe.

    • Breannetuttle on December 31, 2025

      This was really good - loved the maple soy caramel. I did not include mushrooms bc I hate them. :) subbed in some baked tofu instead. Will make again.

  • Squash and kale with green fregola

    • jo_shayne on December 05, 2025

      I made with risoni. Added the remaining kale to roasting tray with pumpkin so it was crispy.

  • Sweet potato, butterbeans and radicchio with corn, yuzu and scallion hot sauce

    • courtney_63tbs8 on March 21, 2026

      Great salad. I doubled the corn in the dressing because I had extra, and the sweetness was great with the level of spice

  • Shaved Brussels sprouts with tofu crumble, shiitake and hot tahini

    • lily_z5lwe7 on February 16, 2026

      Great! We all liked. Made as directed with a little cabbage added in when short on brussels.

  • Butternut with lentils, olives and pickle sauce

    • Lepa on November 16, 2025

      I saw Hetty make this on Instagram with black eyed peas and kabocha and was inspired to try it (the squash and lentils in the original didn't appeal as much.) It was an amazing flavor combination - definitely a repeat. I think I might be a little obsessed.

    • JanayBlaze on November 19, 2025

      I made this as written, with the lentils and butternut squash. So delicious— definitely a keeper. I might add something a bit crispy/crunchy next time, like toasted pecans or pumpkin seeds.

    • dakota_dqnii0 on January 16, 2026

      I liked this fine but don’t like black olives so I did half as many. I don’t know why I pushed myself to use them at all. Did cubed delicata with black lentils. Added 2T of white vinegar to sauce.

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  • ISBN 10 1761268325
  • ISBN 13 9781761268328
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Aug 26 2025
  • Format Paperback
  • Page Count 312
  • Language English
  • Countries Australia
  • Publisher Pan Macmillan Australia

Publishers Text

The author of cult classic Community returns, with a cookbook about making friends and forging connection over salad. 'My culinary life began with salad. A charred broccoli salad, to be specific. Crispy florets tossed with chickpeas and cooling mint, flecked with red chilli pepper and zested lemon peel, bathed in a garlicky caper oil. That salad inspired me to consider possibilities. It ultimately led me here.' From her salad-delivery days in Sydney to her current career as a food writer and bestselling cookbook author in New York, Hetty Lui McKinnon has long known the power of salads to connect and create community. Salads are meant to be shared; they are what you bring to a gathering of friends or family, the ultimate comfort food. With Linger, Hetty has come full circle. Rather than delivering salads to members of her community, this time, she has invited friends into her home, to share salads, sweets and stories around her dining room table. Linger documents these intimate gatherings, with vegetable-laden, loosely seasonal menus enjoyed and photographed in real time. Through her inventive recipes for meal-worthy salads, smaller bites and simple sweets, Hetty invites you to become a part of an unforgettable shared experience of community, food and friendship.

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