Choosing your ingredients

Because salads are combinations of ingredients, it’s very important that the produce you use is of premium quality – perhaps more so in salads than in cooked dishes as the ingredients often have very little done to them. If one of the ingredients isn’t perfect, it can instantly ruin the dish.

Salad leaves should be plump and firm – no wilted leaves please (although a quick dip in cold water, a shake or a turn in a salad spinner to dry them, then 30 minutes in a plastic bag in the fridge can work wonders with greens and herbs).