Roquette Spring Salad

A leafy green salad with the first backyard harvest as a fresh start for the growing season.

Early spring harvest and halloumi topped on fresh roquette leaves • Photography © Bottle and Brush Studio 2022

This is my favourite early spring garden salad. Roquette (arugula) germinates quickly and is an excellent starter in the patch as it is so easy to look after. One thing about it, though, is it bolts pretty quickly to flowers, especially when the weather warms up, so they are best sown in cooler seasons. Flowers are edible, but I leave them to the bees, which will help the plant self-seed. If left in space for themselves, there will be more roquettes coming back without intervention and available to pick in autumn and most of winter. Yes, it is very worthy for easy backyard gardening and can be harvested as needed! Roquette can also be grown in a large container if space is an issue. Leaves can be sprinkled and topped on everything (delicious on a pizza), chopped for pesto, and even cooked like spinach. Another reason to love these peppery, beautiful, leafy greens is for all the essential nutrients they contain. In this spring salad harvest, seasonal greens and herbs give a stunning colour look and lovely, crunchy taste. This can be served as a side dish or on its own, adding roasted pumpkin seeds, cooked quinoa, and grilled halloumi. As for dressing, I love it with a bit of oil and balsamic vinegar, and even better, mixed with some maple syrup!