Alice is a chef & illustrator in london

Herbs are often seen as an afterthought, or as—queue horrible word— ‘garnish’. Which, for me, always creates a vision of the Caesar dog and his square of chicken in jelly. A sprig of parsley somehow indicated freshness and ‘gourmet dining’ in the nineties.

Fresh herbs should be used in abundance by the armful. Buying them can seem like an unnecessary extravagance and they can easily be forgotten about. Once too often I find a mangy bag of old parsley stuck to the back of the fridge, going black. If you share my herby woes, listen up. Do a herb salad— it’s more summery and fragrant than a freshly mowed lawn.

Use any soft herbs - coriander, basil, dill, mint, parsley etc. Perhaps not tarragon, as it can be quite overpowering.

Find the recipe for herb salad with orange and avocado here