CHOPPED SALAD WITH THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

SERVES 6

– 1 shallot, finely chopped

– juice of 1 lemon

– 175g mayonnaise

– ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

– 3 tbsp tomato ketchup – 150g stale bread (ciabatta works well)

– olive oil, for drizzling – 8 slices of pancetta

– 250g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

– 1 large cucumber, sliced

– 2 carrots, coarsely grated

– 3 Little Gem lettuces, trimmed and shredded – 1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained

– 2 red peppers, sliced and deseeded

– 1 punnet of salad cress, snipped

Start by making the dressing – if you can, do this the day before and it’ll be even better. Place the shallot in a bowl with the lemon juice, mayonnaise, sweet smoked paprika, tomato ketchup and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it all together, taste and tweak the seasoning, then cover and leave in the fridge until needed.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Tear the bread into small pieces and drizzle with a little olive oil, toss and spread out on a small baking tray. Drape over the pancetta and bake for around 12-15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Leave to one side to cool – this is the time to get all the other components ready.

You can honestly include whatever you want in this salad – I

25 MINS

like to have a mixture of things, such as cherry tomatoes, cucumber, coarsely grated carrot, trimmed and shredded Little Gem, drained tinned sweetcorn, slices of red pepper and snipped cress. For a real saladbar experience, place everything into individual bowls, including the cooled ciabatta and broken pancetta pieces. Then leave everyone to tuck in and make their own, serving the Thousand Island dressing on the side.