Lennox Hastie's taste of summer

If there is an ingredient that embodies the spirit of summer more than watermelon, I'm yet to encounter it. Juicy and cooling, it is everything on hot days when you can't be bothered cooking. Our contributing chef Lennox Hastie has the same thought, this week preparing a grilled watermelon salad that takes the fruit to the next level. As Lennox writes: "Watermelons are the quintessential summer coolers, their crisp flesh and hydrating juices made for picnics and the beach. Cubed and chilled, it is perfect as it is. But there is a lot more to these fruits than their refreshing sweetness. On the grill, the sugars caramelise, the flesh softens like a cross between a roasted pepper and a meaty tomato and the smoky char adds a layer of complexity that is almost savoury." Enjoy his refreshing recipes that star melons this week.

It is lunar new year which is always a great excuse to eat Asian food. Melbourne-based Diana Chan this week presents a noodle dish that her Malaysian mother always made for lunar new year. It is easy and tasty, as are Diana's other two dishes, both cooked in the wok. Delicious.

Happy eating.

Cellar director John Lehmann selects three Western Australian shirazes, for a super six saving of $74. Details here.

You are probably eating too much salt. At least that is the advice of the WHO who this week advised switching to low-sodium options to improve heart health. “Basically, everyone in the world eats way more salt than they should, and salt causes high blood pressure and high blood pressure is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for premature deaths and disability in the whole world,” says Bruce Neal, professor of medicine at the University of NSW and a director at the George Institute for Global Health. Will you cut your salt intake? Maybe it's something to consider. Read more about it here.