January 4th, 2011 
Chef Simple salads are excellent in summer either as an accompaniment to meat, fish or poultry or eaten as main delight dish.
Rich in vitamins and minerals they make a nutritious and easily digested meal.
You can make salads to suit your taste.
The more varied the green leaves the more nutritious they are if you add nuts, seeds and herbs. Walnuts, pumpkin and sunflowers seeds are excellent.
Things to remember when making a salad
wash leaves thoroughly and spin in a salad spinner to remove all traces of water, this will keep the leaves very crisp.
If not using salad leaves immediately, wrap in a damp tea towel, and keep in the refrigerator they will keep fresh and crisp much longer.
If you are using nuts and seeds, toast lightly and add at the last after you have tossed the salad with a dressing.
Always add the dressing just before serving otherwise the leaves go limp and soggy.
Balsamic vinegar adds a rich sweet taste to a dressing but red or white vinegar can be used instead.
For a tasty dressing, combine 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground black pepper, in a screw top jars, shake well until well amalgamated.
This dressing will keep well in the fridge for about 4 days.
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