Sometimes the simplest meals can give the greatest pleasure. I am a great fan of hard boiled eggs but the dressing is crucial. This recipe was inspired by Simon Hopkinson. Perfect for today’s supper as we have a healthy crop of lettuce and chives brought on by the weekend’s rain.

As with all simple recipes, the quality of the ingredients is crucial. Use free range eggs but ones that are at least a week old; very fresh eggs are difficult to shell.

4 eggs
3-4 Little Gem or similar lettuce – ruthlessly trimmed and leaves separated
A punnet of mustard cress
A small bunch of chives, snipped
Salt
A little extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:
4 tbsp mayonnaise (preferably home-made)
2-3 tbsp milk
Several shakes Worcestershire sauce
Juice of ½ lemon
Freshly ground white pepper
A pinch of mustard powder (optional)
2-3 tbsp whipping cream

Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl. Taste and trust your judgement. Cover and store in the fridge.

Put the eggs in a pan with cold water. Bring to the boil. Cover and take off the heat. Leave the eggs in the water for four minutes, then rinse in cold water until the eggs have no heat. Take care in shelling the eggs and then slice or quarter them.

Arrange the lettuce on a shallow plate, add the sliced eggs, mustard cress and chives.

Add the salad dressing, ‘the merest shine’ of olive oil and season lightly. Mix the salad at the table before serving.