5 warm winter salads

Thai Scallop, Squid and Prawn Salad
Prepare 12 large scallops, 4 small squid and 18 large, raw tiger prawns: cut away any membrane from the scallops, reserving the coral. Remove the tentacles from the squid and reserve and discard the hard quill. Cut into 1cm rings. Peel the prawns, leaving the heads and tails on 6 of them, if you like, as a garnish. Otherwise, remove and discard the heads and tails and remove the dark intestinal tract from the back. Wash and dry the prepared fish. Use frisée salad for this, tearing it into smallish clumps and dividing among 6 plates before you start cooking the seafood.

Chop 3 red and 3 green chillies into rings. Remove most of the seeds, but don't worry if you don't get all of them. Peel and slice a 2.5cm piece of root ginger into very thin slices. Do the same with 2 large cloves of garlic. Heat a little vegetable or sunflower oil in a wok or frying pan and gently fry the chillies, ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the scallops, squid rings and prawns and stir-fry for several minutes until the scallops and squid go opaque white and the prawns turn bright orange. Add the coral from the scallops and the tentacles from the squid and fry another 30 seconds. Add a squirt of Thai fish sauce (go easy as it is very strong). Remove from the heat, add the juice of 1 lime and toss through 1 tbsp each of roughly chopped mint and coriander leaves. Divide evenly among the 6 plates.

Puy Lentil and Vegetable Salad with Goat's Cheese and Rocket
Place 500g Puy lentils, 2 sprigs thyme and 2 bay leaves in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until tender (about 25 minutes). Meanwhile, heat the grill. Slice 2 large courgettes on the diagonal about 0.5cm thick. Deseed and cut 2 yellow peppers into thin strips. Cut 250g cherry tomatoes in half and lay all the vegetables on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill until the vegetables begin to soften and colour. Turn over and grill the other side. Alternatively, you can fry the vegetables on a ridged grill-pan. Crumble 200g goats cheese and set aside. When the lentils are done, drain, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves and place in a large serving bowl. Gently fold in 2 handfuls (or 1 packet) rocket and the grilled vegetables, along with any cooking juices. Sprinkle the crumbled goats cheese on top and serve immediately.