Mark says: “Pour yourself a large glass of wine and one of water and prepare to masticate. The barely chopped herbs require you to chew, to properly chew in a way that we rarely do: the reward of it being your teeth rather than the knife that turn the herbs into something you can swallow is the most extraordinary flavour. You may well feel that you have never tasted chervil and parsley so completely.

“Classically, this sort of salad might be dominated by puntarelle but the celery and herbs work so very well here. You can use any bitter leaves, such as chicory, dandelion, endive, escarole and radicchio, and even mustard leaf, watercress or rocket if you prefer.”

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

2 tbsp capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
12 anchovies, drained and roughly chopped
finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tsp chilli flakes, or more to taste
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 tbsp coarse breadcrumbs
leaves and stalks from 1 celery heart, thinly sliced
big bunch of chervil, barely chopped
big bunch of parsley, barely chopped
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

Mix the capers, anchovies, lemon zest and juice, garlic, vinegar and chilli flakes and season to taste with salt and pepper (go easy, as it should be quite salty already). Allow to marinate for about 10 minutes, then stir through 4 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Fry the breadcrumbs in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil (add a squashed garlic clove and a good sprig of rosemary if you like) until golden and crisp; they keep well, so you can make a big batch.

Combine the celery and herbs with the oily anchovy mix, scatter over the breadcrumbs and serve.

These green herb salad recipes will brighten up your springtime meals