Summer Garden Salad

This time of year is my favourite part of summer, all of the berries fill me with so much joy. I try and use as many as I can whilst they are around. I pop them into smoothies, salads, desserts, ice cubes and sauces, there are so many options for fresh berries. The bright colours of summer fruit just fill me with so much happiness, that I feel like I am serving happy food. This summer garden salad is amazing to serve at a BBQ, if you pair it with jerk chicken, the flavour combinations of spicy and fiery chicken, with sweet, fresh salad compliment each other so well.

Make it in a large serving dish and watch everyone flock to it with glee. The raspberry vinaigrette is totally optional, as the salad is juicy and fresh without it. But I feel it's a great compliment if you wanted to eat the salad alone, or with plain meat. I'm just in love with all of the bright colours, I always gravitate towards vibrant, fresh food.

Serves: 4-6Prep time: 15 minsCook time: None

Ingredients

• 1 nectarine, finely sliced
• 1 avocado, finely sliced
• 200g fresh cherries, de-stoned and halved
• 100g fresh raspberries
• 1 large tomato, or bunch of cherry, halved
• 5 inch piece of cucumber, halved and sliced thinly
• 3 spring onions, chopped finely with green included
• 175g mixed salad leaves
• Handful of walnuts, crushed
• Handful of mixed seeds
• Handful of cress
• Juice of 1 lime
• Peas shoots (optional)

• For the vinaigrette:

• 80g fresh raspberries, pushed through a sieve to gather juice
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp honey

Directions

1. Arrange salad leaves, chop onion, nectarine, cherries, cucumber and tomatoes.
2. Halve avocado and remove from skin, squeeze over juice of 1 lime. Chop into think sections.
3. Arrange everything on top of your salad, add seeds, walnuts, raspberries and pea shoots if using.
4. For the vinaigrette, squash raspberries through a fine sieve into a bowl. Gather the juice and discard all of the seeds. Add olive oil, honey and vinegar. Mix to combine.