A crisp lettuce, mint, spring onion and lemon ensemble is my go-to side salad. It’s refreshing, more than the sum of its parts and deceptively robust alongside warm centrepiece dishes. If I was having a roast chicken in the summer, I’d much rather have this and a grain or pulse side than the winter staples of spuds, roots, carrots and boiled greens.
Ingredients
- 3 heads little gem or baby Romaine lettuce, or 1 butterhead lettuce
- 10 leaves picked from stems mint, finely chopped
- ½ lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Make It
- Separate the lettuce leaves, leaving most of them intact but chopping the inner yellow tightly packed core finely. Wash and dry them if necessary. Fill a salad bowl or serving platter with the lettuce and sprinkle the mint leaves over the top.
- Mix the remaining ingredients together to make a dressing and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. When ready to eat, dress the salad and mix thoroughly to ensure the leaves are well coated.