Show us one person who doesn't love food, and we can bet Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal can convert them in minutes with one of her innumerable culinary experiments!

With that delicious winter leaving as suddenly as it came, we’ve been consoling ourselves by feasting on salads using last of the lovely vegetables that are on offer.

There are baby tomatoes peek-a-booing from mounds of green rocket glistening with walnut oil. The feathery tendrils of endive curl lovingly around chunks of sharp red onion.

Perhaps best of all a confetti of colours and flavours - peppers, yellow corn, green spinach, sprouts piquant with finely chopped parsley, fresh lemon juice and the kiss of green chilli.

Photograph: Sanat Tanna; Courtesy: Cafe Basillico

If this hasn't set your mouth watering, there are other great combinations at the table.

A spicy Asian coleslaw alongside chilli fried chicken, wilted Chinese greens dressed with toasted sesame oil over a bowl of chicken steamed rice, nutty, toasted sesame seeds added for crunch, an aromatic bittersweet combination of pear, mooli and apple in a methi infused vinaigrette and perhaps the most stunning salad of all, a treasure of glistening orange, star fruit and pomegranate with Broccoli.

Salad is present at the table at our home almost daily. It is a major part of the meal in summers when one longs for lighter food and as a smaller but important component of meals in the winter.

There was a time when I thought good salads turned out best when lettuce and peppers were in them. But if we set aside the mindset that a salad can only be composed of exotic lettuce and extra virgin olive oil there is a world of salads that can adorn our plates.

Battered wilted greens, acidic vinaigrettes, lack of variety - I could give you many reasons a salad can go wrong. But constructing a good salad is not rocket science!

At this point I could give you 5 exotic recipes that will have you running all over for a number of expensive ingredients. But I won't. Remember that adage about teaching someone to fish rather than giving them a fish? Instead of just giving you a recipe I am going to take you through the construction of a salad step by step.

That way you can customise it to your taste and whatever is available in your kitchen.

Also by Rushina: The best laid food plans! l How you can make Friday dinners special l My Valentine baby!