A close up of a fresh green salad on a white plate with 'Il Delfino' written on the rim. The salad contains cucumber, celery, fresh parsley, walnuts, and labneh, photographed in bright natural light with a blurred outdoor background.

If you’re looking for the perfect side salad, look no further. This crunchy green salad ticks all the boxes for me - it has crunch, it has acidity, it has salt, and a lovely creamy element with the addition of labneh. Perhaps what I love most about this dish is that it utilises herbs as salad - no chopping or sprinkling - we’re adding in whole flat-leaf parsley to act as our leafy component.

Even though we are in the colder months here in Australia, the sun is still shining most days and I’ve found myself throwing this salad together time and time again. It’s quick to make, uses ingredients I typically have on hand most of the time, and works as a side to any main. Current obsession: this salad!

Why make this?

It’s fresh and light - and it goes with practically any main or source of protein. Fish? Perfect. Steak? Absolutely. With this salad the world - and lunch - is your oyster.
It’s crunchy and textural - celery, cucumber and walnuts are to thank for that, while green Sicilian olives and labneh add a creamy and smooth mouthfeel to balance.
Uses easy to find ingredients - like walnuts, basic produce (celery, cucumber, onion, parsley, lemon), green olives and some good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Comes together in minutes - just a little chopping and tossing and you have yourself a salad!
You can DIY the labneh - if you have time to spare, you can turn from Greek yoghurt and salt into your very own labneh.

A fresh green salad on a white plate, resting on a small white bistro table. The salad contains celery, cucumber, fresh parsley and labneh, and is pictured in bright natural light on a terracotta balcony, overlooking the ocean.

A close-up bird's eye shot of a fresh green salad on a white plate with 'Il Delfino' written on the rim. The salad contains cucumber, celery, fresh parsley, walnuts, and labneh, photographed in bright natural light with terracotta floor tiles below.

Ingredients you will need for this crunchy green salad

For the salad base:

Celery - the stalks are cut into thin 1cm slices on the diagonal.
Cucumber - for a cooling crunch, I like to use the Lebanese variety, if you can find them!
Flat-leaf or continental parsley - we just use the leaves for this recipes but you can reserve the stalks and add them to pasta sauces to add flavour.
Onion or shallot - I’ve used both in this dish and they can be interchangeable. Slicing them against the grain is essential!
Walnuts - another crunchy element but texturally different - I love the nuttiness this brings to the salad
Green Sicilian Castelvetrano olives - for saltiness and depth of flavour. If you can’t find Sicilian olives, you can use any green olive.

For the dressing and toppings:

Lemon - it brings a lovely, summery and zingy acidity to the dish.
Extra virgin olive oil - this helps bind it all together. I like to use a medium-bodied olive oil for salad dressings.
Labneh - this is our creamy element. I love the slightly sourness of labneh and it works so well with this salad.

How to make this crunchy green salad

1. Make the labneh

Combine Greek yoghurt and salt, then set aside to strain in the fridge for a couple of days beforehand.

2. Chop the celery, cucumber and walnuts

Slice the cucumbers lengthways into halves, then make 1cm cuts on the diagonal. Slice the celery stalks into 1cm pieces also on the diagonal and add them to a bowl with the cucumbers. Finally, roughly chop some walnuts halves and toss these in.

3. Prepare the olives

Use the side of a knife to press down onto each olive to split it so you can easily remove and discard the pit. Roughly chop the olive flesh and add to the bowl.

4. Slice the onion

How you cut an onion makes a difference to a dish. Cutting an onion against the grain not only results in lovely little crescent shaped slices, but it also disrupts more cell-membranes resulting in a milder, more delicate flavour. Perfect for eating raw in a salad! Once the onion is sliced, I like to add it to a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes before draining.

5. Add the parsley, seasoning and dressing

The easy part is throwing in some flat-leaf parsley leaves, and dressing the salad generously with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.

6. Final touches

All that’s left to do is serve topped with dollops of labneh and a drizzle of olive oil for good measure.

Tips, tricks and substitutions

Take time to cut everything properly - I truly believe the way you cut produce has a huge impact on the overall finished dish. Taking time to properly cut the celery and cucumber, as well as the onion, will result in a superior texture and flavour at the end - promise!

Soak your onions - whenever I’m using raw onions I like to soak them in iced water for a few minutes before using. The iced water. Not only does this help keep them crisp, but also helps to mellow the harsh flavour.

If you don’t have parsley - you can use herbs like mint, dill or even salad greens like burnet.

Labneh can keep for up to 2 weeks - once made, store in an airtight container in the fridge and it should be good for 1-2 weeks.

You can use store-bought labneh - if you’re pressed for time or simply don’t want to make your own labneh, you can buy any store-bought variety you like. If you can’t find labneh, you could also use a mild feta in place.

If you’re allergic to walnuts - you can use other nuts like almonds or macadamias, or if you need a nut-free option, you could throw in some pepita seeds instead.

That’s about it for this salad! I hope you love this crunchy green number as much as I do - and if you do make it, please tag me on Instagram or Pinterest - I love seeing what you’ve made!