Stevie Parle's scrumptious summer salads A salad made solely from leaves is not my idea of lunch, however imaginatively presented. Yet a salad based on bitter crunchy winter leaves or a beautiful watermelon, mint and feta in summer can be lively and invigorating, fresh and delicious. You can knock them up in seconds, they're as cheap as anything and they don't leave you feeling lethargic afterwards. On a recent break in Provence I made a chickpea salad. I gently warmed the chickpeas and seasoned them generously with salt, vinegar and oil, mixed them into a bowl of chopped cucumber and tomatoes, then added a spoon of mustard and a sprinkle of parsley. By early July, fruit usually finds its way into my salad bowl. One favourite is watermelon; people find it unexpectedly delicious in a savoury dish. The classic recipe is with chilli and feta, which I learnt years ago in Greece and gave a recipe for this time last year (you'll find it online). My new way is with tomatoes and anchovies: the acidity of the tomatoes helps balance of sweetness in the melon, while the anchovy adds a wonderful depth of flavour. Grains and pulses can give substance to a summer salad. I'm a late convert to quinoa, having been put off by snobbery over how you say the word (it's "ke enouah," darling). I assumed because it's trendy and healthy it'd be revolting. How wrong I was. Its fine texture means quinoa is great in salads - it has a wonderful, almost dusty taste that is, surprisingly, rather comforting . Here I give a recipe with beetroots, vinegar and walnuts, finished with a blob of ricotta. Another classic I've recently been experimenting with is panzanella, a Tuscan salad of stale bread and ripe tomatoes, capers, anchovies and often raw onion. My bread salad includes toasted bread and lots of roasted peeled peppers - although you can make it with those delicious Spanish peppers you find in jars. It's best to roast your peppers on a barbecue: this salad is a great precursor to grilled meat or fish.