YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.. SIMPLE AND SPICY

THERE’S nothing better than a tasty, healthy salad during the summer. Don’t assume salads are boring. These will provide a party for your taste buds.

Duck breast, melon, mint and lamb’s lettuce salad

Serves four INGREDIENTS 4 duck breasts; 400g broccoli; one melon; 1 or 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely diced; 200g lamb’s lettuce; 1 packet of pomegranate seeds; 20g mint leaves For the dressing Juice of two limes; 2tbsp light soy sauce; 2tbsp fish sauce; few grinds of black pepper; olive oil METHOD 1 Preheat the oven to 180C. 2 Score the skin of the duck breasts then pan fry, skin side down, for about eight minutes. Finish off in the oven for about 10 minutes – the duck should be pink in the middle. Leave to rest, then cut into slices. 3 Cook broccoli until al dente and put to one side. 4 Chop up melon into bite-size pieces. 5 Place lettuce in a flat salad dish and scatter with the duck, broccoli, melon, chilli and pomegranate seeds. Tear – do not cut – the mint leaves over the top. 6 Add dressing to taste.

Lentils, roast tomatoes, feta and fresh thyme

Serves four

INGREDIENTS 1 butternut squash/packet of pre-cut butternut squash; 500g cherry tomatoes/10 sun-dried tomatoes; salt and pepper; 200g bacon lardons; 400g green beans/ mix of green beans and mangetout; 1 packet feta cheese; 1 bunch of fresh thyme; 50g rocket; 2 tins of of ready-cooked lentils

For the dressing 3tbsp olive oil; 1tsp grainy mustard; 1tbsp Greek yogurt; 1tbsp runny honey; juice of half a lemon; juice of 1 tangerine

METHOD

1 Cut butternut squash into wedges (unless pre-cut) and roast for 25 minutes at 160C.

2 If using fresh tomatoes, halfway through cooking put the tomatoes on top of the squash and season with salt and pepper. If you haven’t got time, just use some sun-dried tomatoes but don’t roast them with the squash – just cut them up. 3 Fry lardons until crispy. 4 Cook green beans or mangetout until al dente. Slice up feta. Pick off leaves from thyme.

5 In a bowl, mix together lentils, lardons, beans or mangetout, tomatoes, squash and thyme.

6 Mix all the dressing ingredients together.

7 Add dressing to the salad bowl, spread the rocket over a serving plate and cover the rocket with the salad.

8 Dot feta over top.

● Recipes courtesy of Rhubarb Rhubarb, £25, unbound.com