Prosciutto with melon and rocket

For 2, as a light lunch or supper

a ripe small melon, about 450g in weight
75g rocket leaves
75g prosciutto, thinly sliced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

The tang of Parma ham, or Spanish Serrano if you prefer, is a masterful match for ripe golden melon and fiery rocket leaves. A light, fruity olive oil would be better here than a pungent heavy one.

Slice the melon in half and scoop out the seeds over a bowl to catch the juices. Scoop out the flesh of the melon in large bite-sized pieces. Drop the bits into the bowl with the juices. Tear the rocket leaves slightly if they are a bit big; the big ones can be terribly bitter. Drop them in with the melon. Shred the prosciutto thinly. Add to melon and rocket.

Mix the vinegar and the olive oil with some freshly ground black pepper. You won't need the salt. Toss the dressing and salad very carefully, so as not to smash the ripe melon, and eat at once.

A Salad of bitter leaves, blue cheese and walnuts

For 2 as a light lunch, supper or snack

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt
50ml groundnut oil
2 large handfuls per person of: chicory leaves, radicchio and frisee, torn into bite-sized pieces
100g blue cheese: Dolcelatte, Roquefort, Stilton or Beenleigh Blue
75g walnut pieces

A crunchy salad of bitter leaves and salty cheese in a thick mustard dressing. Bold flavours indeed. Piquant leaves are a bonus, but make this salad with whatever ones you have. Use one or a mixture of blue cheeses, and if the walnuts are from a packet be sure they are fresh; they become rancid shortly after opening.

Mix the mustard, vinegar and salt in a salad bowl, pour in the oil and stir until thick. Add the bitter leaves, crumble in the cheese and drop in the walnut pieces. Toss in the mustard dressing.

Warm new potato salad with melted taleggio and rocket

For 2 as a substantial snack or light supper

450g new potatoes, wiped clean
2 handfuls of rocket, washed and shaken dry
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
200g mild, semi-soft cheese

Taleggio is just one of the mild-mannered cheeses that works well with rocket. Brie or a mildly-flavoured Cantal are possibilities. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender - about 12 minutes. Toss the leaves in the olive oil and dump on two ovenproof plates. Drain the potatoes and slice each one in half. Scatter them over the salad leaves. Slice the cheese thinly over the potatoes. Set the plate under a preheated grill and cook till the cheese starts to ooze, about 1 minute. Eat immediately. No rocket? Try radicchio and Roquefort, or watercress and Gruyère.

Thai chicken salad

A substantial supper for 2

1 large boned chicken or duck breast
olive oil
4 tbsps lime juice
2 tbsps fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsps groundnut oil
a little sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
1 tbsp chopped mint
1/2 cucumber, peeled
1 large carrot, scrubbed
small handful coriander leaves
1 hot red chilli pepper, seeded and cut into shreds
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 handfuls of bean sprouts, washed

Grill the meat, brushed with a little oil and seasoned, till tender. The skin should be crisp. Slice into 1 cm strips. Mix the lime juice, nam pla, soy and groundnut oil. Stir in a shake of sesame oil, the sugar, garlic and the chopped mint. Season with black pepper. Slice the cucumber and carrot finely. In a large bowl, toss the dressing with the cucumber and carrot shavings, the coriander and chilli, the onion and the bean sprouts. Toss in the chicken or duck. Serve immediately.

Spinach with bacon and mustard dressing

For 2, as a side dish

4 handfuls of young spinach leaves
100g smoked streaky bacon, cut into 5mm dice
6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Mustard has an uplifting effect on spinach. Stir a blob of mild French mustard into the dressing for a spinach salad and you will see what I mean. Lemon juice has much the same effect, but is less subtle. Bacon's salty tang, too, is a happy partner to spinach leaves' overwhelming wholesomeness. As a side dish for, say, grilled chicken or duck, or as a light lunch accompanied by rice.

Wash the spinach leaves and pick out any tough stalks. Fry the bacon till crisp, in its own fat if there is enough, or in a tablespoon of the oil. Place the salad leaves in a bowl, lift the bacon from the pan with a draining spoon and add to the spinach.

Pour the rest of the oil into the pan, turn the heat to low and stir in the wine vinegar and mustard, and some black pepper. Bring slowly to the boil but remove from the heat just as it gets there. Whisk constantly with a hand whisk or a fork. Tip the hot dressing over the spinach and bacon, and serve.