When I was living in Oxford, and there was an uninspiring grey old day like today, I’d treat myself to an Alpha Salad.
It’s a legendary salad bar in the covered market. Big juicy butterbeans and nutty lentils. Tangy coleslaw, and heaps of Mediterranean vegetables. You could pick from a generous lump of goats cheese, with a thick creamy rind, chicken, tofu and smoked mackerel. Spoonfuls of pesto, and handfuls of seeds. You would leave with a million flavours crammed into a cardboard box, and a wooden fork, to sit on a bench outside a library and really relish every mouthful of lunch.…
Hello – I'm Rachel Walker – food writer and cook. I live in East London with my very tolerant husband, who is often alarmed to find pig trotters or brining lamb tongues floating in the fridge. 
