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Reg's Allotment Salad

The point of this dish is to gather whatever you have ready in the garden to make a delicious salad; it uses so many ingredients that it can be a great way for a number of allotment neighbors to pool their resources.

Reg is a handsome man of few words, in his seventies. Being of few words is useful when preparing a salad as time-consuming as this. It is a real labor of love and a joy to eat, either on its own or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or lamb. Thank you, Reg! — Samantha and Samuel Clark, Moro East cookbook

The Salad

  • 2 garlic cloves (new season's, if possible), finely chopped
  • 1 Cos (romaine) lettuce, outer leaves removed, finely shredded
  • 1 small new season's onion or 2 spring onions, sliced to thin rings (all the green part, too)
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large or 2 small raw beetroot, grated
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • 2 handfuls of purslane (a succulent herb), roughly chopped
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters, or 2-3 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 10 radishes, trimmed and sliced thinly
  • 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced
  • 1 medium kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped
  • 1-2 fresh chilies, if you light a little heat, cut in half lengthways, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 small fennel bulb and its tops, finely chopped
  • 2 handfuls sorrel, shredded
  • 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint


Put everything in a large salad bowl. Pour over the oil and lemon juice or vinegar and season with salt and pepper. The salad may have a purple/red hue from the beetroot.

Serves 6-8

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