I love a salad that has crunch, different textures and sweet and sour flavours so this ticks all of the boxes for me. You will need a mandolin so that you can slice the fennel really, really thinly and just a sharp knife to slice the onion, cucumber and celery. You’ll need to prep the red onion about an hour before you can combine it with the rest of the ingredients. Just check the seasoning to make sure the balance of salt and sour is to your taste. This is just perfect with grilled fish or chicken.

• 1/2 large cucumber
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 large bulb of fennel
• 1/2 large red onion
• Juice of a large lemon
• 5 sprigs of tarragon leaves
• A pinch of salt and sugar
• Dressing: 1 generous tsp of Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp rapeseed oil, a pinch of salt and white pepper, 1 tsp cold water.

To make…

• First, slice the onion very thinly, lay it out on a plate and then soak in the lemon juice in which you have dissolved a pinch of salt and sugar. Leave to marinate and turn every 15 minutes or so. It should soften and become less sharp within an hour.
• Meanwhile, prep the rest of the salad. Cut the cucumber in half, lengthwise and slice out the seedy centre piece and cut it thinly on the bias Slice the celery string away with a vegetable peeler and slice it thinly on the bias. Run the fennel through a mandolin into thin slices and place it all in a large cereal bowl. Finely chop the tarragon and add to the salad.
• Mix the salad dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and then pour over the salad. Mix thoroughly.
• When the red onion is ready, pour off the lemon juice and then mix into the salad. Refrigerate until you need to serve.

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