A few months ago I met an old school friend for lunch in London. The occasion had taken months to set up and I wanted to find a comfortable, relaxed restaurant which would be easy for both of us to get to. I lit upon The Orange in Pimlico, and it turned out to be perfect.

This simple salad was one which we both selected and both liked. It’s easy to replicate, and now it’s become part of my fall-back repertoire.

Recipe for artichoke, goats’ cheese and black olive salad

For two

• 160g/6 oz chargrilled artichoke hearts (which have been drained of their olive oil – reserve the oil). If by some chance you can only find tinned or frozen, go here to see how you can turn them around and make them edible.
• 10 Crespo dried, pitted black olives, halved
• 60g/2 oz mild goats’ cheese, cut into chunks. Riblaire St Varent is a good one
• 4 tbsp olive oil (use any which the artichokes or the olives might have been in)
• 1 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
• Smoked salt and Indonesian long pepper

1. Mix all and heat gently

This post is dedicated to Sarah Middleton