Whether or not the next few weeks bless us with some proper salad weather, you can escape to picturesque River Cottage through these scrumptious seasonal salad recipes.

Crab with radishes, orange, and watercress

Serves 2 as main, 4 as starter

• 200g white crab meat
• 2 oranges
• 5 spring radishes, topped and tailed
• 2 Tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed (canola) oil
• 50g watercress, tougher stalks removed
• Sea salt and black pepper

Put the crab meat on a plate and pick through it with your fingertips to check for any fragments of shell, then transfer to a bowl.

Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the oranges then stand them on a board and slice off the skin and white pith. Cut the orange segments out from between the membranes and remove any pips. When you’re just left with the core of pithy membranes, squeeze this over the crab to release any juice.

Thinly slice the radishes and arrange on a platter with the orange segments. Add the rapeseed oil to the crab meat and mix gently, then taste and season with a little salt and pepper. Distribute the crab over the oranges and radishes, scatter the watercress over the top and serve.

Panzanella

Serves 2 as main, 4 as starter

• 2 slices of slightly stale sourdough or ciabatta
• 1kg mixed, slightly over-ripe, tomatoes
• Cucumber
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp capers, roughly chopped
• 100g black Kalamata olives, pitted
• 150g halved gooseberries, quartered strawberries, or whole raspberries
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• A small bunch of basil (25g), leaves picked

Preheat the oven to 200^oC. Tear the bread into large chunks and scatter on a baking tray.

Toast in the oven for 3–5 minutes until crisp and lightly golden, turning once. Remove and allow to cool.

Pick the ripest 2 tomatoes (fairly soft is fine) and squish them in your hands into a sieve set over a large bowl.

Using the back of a wooden spoon, press the tomato flesh through the sieve; discard the seeds and skins. Cut the rest of the tomatoes into wedges or chop them roughly and add to the bowl containing the tomato juice.

Dice the cucumber and add to the tomatoes with the red onion, capers, olives, and your choice of fruit.

Toss in the toasted bread chunks and trickle in the olive oil. Roughly tear half of the basil leaves into the salad. Tumble everything together and allow the salad to sit for 15–20 minutes.

Season the panzanella with salt and pepper to taste and give it a final toss. Tear over the remaining basil and serve.

Honey-glazed leftover belly pork with shredded summer veg

Serves 2

• 300g leftover roast pork
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 small red onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 small courgette
• 50g mange tout (snow pea)
• Red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
• 100g bean sprouts

Tear the leftover pork into rough pieces and place in a bowl. Mix the honey, tamari, sesame seeds and lime juice together in a small bowl and then add to the pork and toss to combine.

Heat the oven to 220^oC. Spread the pork out in a single layer on a baking tray and place in

the oven for 6 minutes. Take it out and turn the pork then return to the oven for another 6 minutes. The pork should be nice and sticky now, but if not, return it to the oven for a further 6 minutes keeping a close eye to make sure that it doesn’t burn. Leave to cool.

While the pork is in the oven, slice the onion, carrot, courgette, and mange tout into very fine shreds and toss together in a bowl with the chilli and bean sprouts. About 5 minutes before eating, mix the veg and pork together with any juices left on the baking tray.

It’s a salad best eaten at room temperature, so if you make it ahead take it from the fridge an hour or so before eating.

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