• There is no real formula for these. I think you need to think about bite-sized pieces if people are standing to eat, with a plate in one hand and a glass in the other. No knives should be required. I made a potato salad with boiled baby potatoes, diced asparagus, diced green beans, broccoli florets, spring onion, mint and parsley held together with prepared mayonnaise.
• I roasted peppers, mushrooms, courgette, red onions and eggplant in bite-sized pieces. I threw in a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and lentils and some pine nuts with fresh basil.
• The leaf content was a mixture of bitter and sweet radicchio, red whitlof and cos leaves. There were also avocado chunks, red onions soaked in lime juice and salt to turn them pink, as well as orange segments dressed with some avocado oil and orange juice.
Cook's note
• Rather than sticking to set quantities, assemble available salad ingredients to your own taste. Keep in mind that hospitality is not about perfect performance, it's about providing whatever you cook with a generous heart. Done that way it will always be appreciated.
