Peaches are in season! And what better way to celebrate than by making this summery salad with fresh peaches and ricotta cheese.

• 200g mixed lettuce and rocket
• 1 peach thinly sliced
• 4 rashers of bacon (optional)
• 80g ricotta
• handful roasted pinenuts/pumpkin seeds
• ½ chilli thinly sliced
• drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar

When cooking the bacon, add half a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of balsamic vinegar – it caramelizes the bacon slightly and gives it an extra bit of love.

Toss the ingredients together, dress with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkle on the chilli. The freshness of the peaches with the creaminess of the ricotta are just perfect.

But careful with the chilli – I had dinner with a friend and her parents recently and thought I’d impress them by making this salad. I added too much chilli by mistake and at first there was polite silence as we all tried to contain the burning fire at the back of our throats. By the end of the meal we couldn’t contain it any longer and let out a good laugh at the silly mistake and how we couldn’t pick the chilli out because it had been so finely chopped!

The fact that today is the day before Valentines Day, is pure co-incidence. But why not use it as an excuse to share the love and eat healthy raw cacao and walnut balls of deliciousness…