My perfect Summer salad

When a day has been as hot as today the only thing I really want it a big bowl of salad - and I don't just mean a bowl of lettuce - that's boring!  They always say that the more colours you can get into your meals the healthier they are and I like that as a basis for salads (although I must admit that the majority of colours in my salads are still shades of green)!  In my mind a good salad is made up of three key components: a protein, a carbohydrate and some veggies.  The protein can be meaty such as chicken or ham, or vege such as cheese or eggs.  Carbohydrates include bits like couscous, dough sticks, potatoes, bulgar wheat. The veggies can be whatever you fancy - my personal favourite is avocado (even though it's not technically a veggie), it's also good to bulk out your salad with bits like lettuce, cucumber and celery.

Today's salad is pretty much my favourite mix (although if I had any I would have added in a few tomatoes).

Here's what went in it:

Boiled new potatoes

Boiled egg

Iceberg lettuce

Celery

Roasted & marinated red peppers

Spring onion

Red onion

Avocado

Homemade French dressing

Boil the potatoes for 10-15mins depending on their size, after about 5mins add the eggs to the pan.  Meanwhile chop the lettuce, celery and spring onions and put them in a mixing bowl.  Finely slice the red onion and add that.  I normally shred the red peppers into strips but feel free to chop them instead.  Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and use a sharp knife to cut it in the skin (without cutting the skin itself) then get a spoon to scoop it all out into your bowl.

When the potatoes and eggs are done plunge them quickly into cold water to stop them cooking.  Remove the potatoes first, cut them while they are still warm and add them to the salad.  Peel and quarter the eggs but don't add these to the main mixing bowl.  If you have trouble peeling eggs I would recommend Jamie Oliver's method, lightly crack all round the egg (top, bottom & sides) then give it a gentle roll across the worktop, this should loosen the shell enough to let you get it off more easily in one go (or at least less go's than normal)!

Stir up all your ingredients (minus the eggs) and put a portion into your bowl/plate and top with the quartered egg.  Make a quick French dressing by putting a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt in a jam jar, then top that off with white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (in a ratio of roughly 1:3 depending on your own taste, you may find you prefer 1:4).  Put the lid on your jam jar and give it a good shake before tasting it and adjusting the ratios if necessary.

After this you just need to dress your salad and stuff your face!