Once upon a time, I had no idea how to make a tasty salad. My carrots were cut so thick you could choke on them, my dressing was too vinegary (the thought of using olive oil by itself never occurred to me), and I didn’t understand how herbs could provide nuance, onion could give lift, and cucumbers could give succulence — without the sogginess of tomatoes (hint: if you want diced tomatoes, add them to your salad at the last minute). Not to mention celery, diced as finely as can be, for unobtrusive crunch and a lovely subtle flavour. I needed to go to Salad School — and come out of it as a Salad Queen.

I make salad a couple of times a week: big bowls that last for the next few days, so that whatever is on the menu, the veg part is a no-brainer. Grilled salmon with seasoned rice? Lovely — and we’ll have salad to round it off. Homemade chicken curry? Great! And the veg, with or without cooked broccoli, will be salad. So… what is this salad, anyway?

The salad in the photo is a typical one for me. It has red-leaf lettuce as a kind of basis, with baby rocket for additional nutrients and flavour. I also often include water cress, which is slightly peppery and delightful but does have a very short shelf life: buy it and use it as promptly as you can. The salad has the finely diced very green celery stalks, either bought or from my herb planter (the latter being leafier and easier to snip with scissors). It has herbs from the herb planter: basil (including the flowers), parsley, mint, and perhaps some chives. I like raw onion in any salad (all onion is good, but raw is especially nutritious), and red onion is my go-to. Finally, I often like some fresh-grated carrot: it’s a wonderful food but not everyone likes carrots, and yet it is so good and easy in a salad: just a delightful part of the mix. Drizzle some olive oil, add black pepper and salt to taste, and you have a wonderful powerful salad that goes with just about every dish!