July is one of our favourite months at Barleylands. The shop is stacked with the best of the British summer: vine tomatoes bursting with flavour, crisp cucumbers and lettuces, fat courgettes, fresh herbs that smell exactly as they should, and the first of the sweetcorn starting to come in. If there is ever a month to stop reaching for the meal kit and just cook from what is actually in season, it is July.
This post is a guide to building a summer salad bowl using ingredients you can pick up in store or order online for delivery across Essex.
Why July is the best month for salads
British summer salad produce peaks in July. Tomatoes have had enough sun to develop real flavour; the watery, pale-pink variety you get in winter is a different food entirely. Our salad range at this time of year runs from baby leaves and cos lettuces to cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, radishes and mixed peppers. Meanwhile the fresh herbs are in their element: basil, mint, flat-leaf parsley and chives are all at their most fragrant right now.
Courgettes are one of the quiet stars of July. Grilled or ribboned raw on a peeler, they add body and a gentle sweetness that works beautifully in a bowl. Pick them up in our vegetables section alongside runner beans, which are at their most tender this month.
Your shopping list from Barleylands
Here is everything you need for a bowl that feeds two generously. All of it is available in store or online.
- Cherry tomatoes or vine tomatoes (250g–500g)
- Cos lettuce or mixed salad leaves
- 1 cucumber
- 1 courgette
- A bunch of spring onions
- A handful of radishes
- Fresh basil or mint (or both)
- Free-range eggs, two per person, soft-boiled (optional but recommended)
For the dressing you just need olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. If you want something richer, a spoon of wholegrain mustard and a splash of white wine vinegar does the job.
How to build the bowl
The key is layering by texture rather than just tipping everything in. Start with your leaves as a base, then build up from there.
Step 1. Halve the cherry tomatoes and season them with a pinch of salt. Leave them to sit for five minutes; they release a little juice that becomes part of the dressing.
Step 2. Use a peeler to ribbon the courgette lengthways into thin strips. These can go straight in raw, or quickly griddle them for two minutes a side if you prefer them slightly softened.
Step 3. Slice the cucumber at an angle, roughly chop the spring onions and halve the radishes. Keep the sizes uneven. It makes the bowl look better and eat better.
Step 4. Soft-boil the eggs if using. Six minutes from boiling water, then straight into cold water. Peel and halve just before serving.
Step 5. Arrange everything over the leaves, scatter torn basil or mint on top, and dress lightly. Eat straight away.
Seasonal swaps through the month
July produce shifts week by week. As the month goes on, the first sweetcorn appears; strip the kernels raw into the bowl for a sweet crunch that needs nothing else doing to it. Runner beans, blanched for two minutes and refreshed in cold water, are another good addition. Towards the end of July, look out for the first British plum tomatoes and early new-season peppers coming through.
The June seasonal guide has more detail on what was in peak condition last month. Strawberries and Jersey Royals are still available in early July, so they can find their way into the bowl too: sliced strawberries with fresh mint make a surprisingly good combination with bitter leaves and a sharp dressing.
Pick it up in store or order online
Everything in this recipe is available at Barleylands Farm Shop on Southend Road, Billericay, open from 6am Monday to Saturday and 6am Sunday. If you cannot get in, we deliver across Essex postcodes including CM, SS and RM; order before the cut-off and it arrives fresh the next day.
The salad collection lists everything we have in stock. For fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables and fruit, browse the relevant collections or just come in and see what catches your eye. In July, most things will.