Our food columnist, Mark Doe of ‘Just Cooking’ in Firies, says salads don’t have to stop once summer is over…

“SALADS? They’re rabbit food!” I hear you say!

Most people’s idea of a salad is limp lettuce with tasteless tomatoes and a bit of cucumber, but there is so much more to salads than this.

As we head into the Autumn there is many seasonal ingredients you can use to prepare a stunning salad.

Some of the seasonal produce around at the moment include plums, spring onions, artichokes, aubergine, fennel, beetroot and broad beans.

All of the above of packed full of flavour and work really well in salads.

Continued below…

The dressing is a vital part of any salad and they can be knocked up in seconds. A homemade dressing is so much better than a shop-bought one and a lot healthier.

For a basic dressing take 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 12 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey. Place in a jam jar with a tight fitting lid, season with salt and pepper and give a good shake.

You can spice the dressing up a little with some dried chillies, wholegrain mustard or toasted cumin seeds.

Continued below…

For a healthier dressing use some natural yogurt mixed with a little lemon juice and finely chopped garlic.

Warm salads are good also and one of my favourites is a salad of roast beetroot and sweet potato, finished with crumbled feta cheese and spring onions. Just dress before serving with the homemade dressing.

Another cracking warm salad is baby potatoes, boiled and kept warm. You can then add chopped spring onions, loads of chopped fresh parsley, a little horseradish sauce and dress lightly, again using the homemade dressing.

Whilst working at the Ritz hotel in London, the chefs used to quickly prepare salads for the chef’s staff meals.
 The salad got the name of “the anything salad”, as it was literally any leftover vegetables, potatoes meat or fish tossed with a dressing.

The dressing consisted of mayonnaise, garlic and parmesan which was thinned down to a creamy consistency with boiling water. It was really a quick Caesar dressing and it works with pretty much anything.

So why not try a few new ideas and try and keep the ingredients seasonal, because this is when they are at their best and usually locally farmed.