I have no truck with anyone who tries to say a salad is not a meal in itself. After all, a salad is simply a collection of ingredients tossed together with a dressing, so anything goes – and this one is packed with spring flavours.

Timings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 17 minutes

Serves

Four, plus leftovers, which can be used to make this quick-fried chorizo, potato and asparagus salad

Ingredients

300g Jersey Royals or other new potatoes
12 asparagus spears
150g podded peas
150g podded baby broad beans
150g radishes, halved
400g mixed lettuces and leaves, torn
150g firm ricotta, crumbled

For the dressing

Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp clear honey
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Put the potatoes in a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, thickly slice and tip into a bowl.
For the dressing, whisk the lemon juice with the mustard, honey and plenty of seasoning, then whisk in the olive oil. Pour half over the potatoes.
Blanch the asparagus, peas and broad beans in boiling water for two minutes, then drain and cool under cold running water. Slice the asparagus and remove the skins from the broad beans, then add both to the potatoes.
Slice the radishes and add to the bowl with the remaining ingredients. Pour over the other half of the dressing and serve.