Recipe: Paris market salad

A French-Inspired Salad That Knows How to Dress {v, nf, gf}

There’s something deeply satisfying about making a recipe that celebrates the seasons. When you have access to a good fresh food market, the ingredients practically tell you what to cook. On my recent trip to Paris for the launch of this, I couldn’t resist diving headfirst into the market stalls. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. The heads of lettuces looked like roses in full bloom. Whipping up something beautiful with such delicious treasures was a doddle.

Of course, it’s not always that dreamy. I’ve wandered past the tired shelves of my local London supermarket, feeling thoroughly uninspired by the plastic-wrapped produce, many a time. You look at it all and think, how am I meant to feel excited about this?

Now living in a small Swedish seaside village, I get it. For most of winter, it’s a local produce desert—apart from the odd potato or cabbage. But recently, our local farmer opened up their little hut again (it runs on an honesty system and is open 24/7), and I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on some glorious cucumbers and tomatoes bursting with flavour.

If you don’t have access to that kind of set-up and for most of my years in London, I didn’t either, especially when farmers’ markets were way out of my student budget, then here are a few small tweaks that can make a big difference:

🥬 Bin the bags
Ditch the bagged greens. Go for a whole head of lettuce—little gems are ideal. They keep better, taste better, and feel like less of a compromise.

🍅 Keep it ambient
Cold tomatoes? No thanks. Refrigeration zaps the flavour right out of tomatoes and strawberries. Store them somewhere dark and cool instead. And if you must stick them in the fridge, take them out 30 minutes before serving.

💸 Splash the cash (just a bit)
Even the humble iceberg can shine with the right dressing. A good peppery olive oil or splash of aged vinegar goes a long way. A snowstorm of finely grated cheese doesn’t hurt either.

Fun fact for your next pub quiz:
The word salad comes from the Latin salata, meaning ‘salted things’—because historically, vegetables were dressed with brine or salty seasonings. So don’t be afraid to season boldly. A well-seasoned salad is what brings everything to life—think salt, acidity, a hit of umami.

Three reasons you’ll Thank Me Later:

🥗 Your salads will actually taste of something (no more sad, watery leaves)
💡 You’ll start to look forward to eating salad, rather than doing it out of duty
🧀 That generous layer of shaved cheese on top? It adds just the right hit of savoury luxury to make it feel special.

✨ Want to know my secret to the perfect French market salad?
Behind the paywall, you'll find:

• My no-fail 3-ingredient dressing

• The one tip that makes even sad supermarket lettuce taste like a Parisian market find
  Ready to transform your everyday salad into something special?
  [Unlock it here →]

This week’s petit pleasure - I just started watching this. I feel I need to dust off my Cluedo board game.