How to build the best Summer Salad

Learn how to make the best salad! 

This summer salad is super easy and only needs a few ingredients that are easy to find! 

Besides the salad being simple, the base of this salad teaches you that anything can be substituted. 

For this salad, I use a handful of rocket, few tablespoons of olives, a box of bresaola (normally comes in 80/100g packets), and some freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste. I toss this all up in a large bowl then drizzle lots of olive oil. I am hot a fan of big heavy salads that have mayonnaise as the basis of the salad dressing, and I also do not like vinaigrette or vinegar-based dressing. I find this the perfect and easy summer salad. 

The basis of any salad should be 

1. Green base (Rocket)
2. Protein (Bresoala) 
3. Extra veg/ fruit (Olives)
4. Smaller toppings (Parmesean cheese)
5. Salad dressing (Drizzled over some extra virgin olive oil) 
   

1. One handful of green leaves - rocket, romaine lettuce, round lettuce, iceberg lettuce, red chard or even spinach. 
2. Then you need some protein, this could vary from something basic such as a tin of oily tuna or mackerel to some premium cold cuts. Here are some examples- turkey breast, chicken breast, roasted chicken, tuna, salmon, tofu, tempeh, mackerel. The list of endless for the different types of protein available for salads.
3. I like to add another vegetable than in my salad, this could simply be whatever you have leftover in the fridge or what you can find in the shop that is available in this season- carrots, olives, cucumber, tomato, cabbage, broccoli, onion, radish, bell pepper, cauliflower, celery, peas, kale or even watercress. You can add as much of these are you like to give your salad some color, taste, and texture! 
4. Before adding the salad dressing, I always add another topping, but this time it is smaller and can be different. I choose parmesan cheese because it is a versatile staple kept in the fridge as it can be added to almost any savory recipe that I make. Other ideas are- peanuts, walnuts, cashews, chopped up dates, sultanas, sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries, pinenuts, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seed, poppy seeds, capers, pickles, sesame seeds, fresh herbs, beans or any other type of cheese that you enjoy. 
5. Last step- Salad dressing. Again this is down to personal preference and what you like to eat. I like my dressing to be light, so I just use some extra virgin olive oil and some lemon juice. But if you want to be creative feel free to make one of these salad dressings. 
1. Honey and mustard 
2. Sesame and soy
3. Parsley, mustard and garlic 
4. Anchovy with capers
5. Sweet chilli
6. Tahini sauce with lemon juice