In ancient times Mediterranean cultures grew lettuce (documented from AD 500), curly endive, carrots, asparagus, parsley, leeks and garlic and made use of countless wild aromatic herbs to prepare stimulating salads. These were dressed with olive oil, vinegar made from grapes, figs or peaches and salt. In the caliphate of Al-Andalus, the recipes were enriched with green onions (spring onions) and orange and lemon juice. In Arte de Reposteria (1747), Juan de la Mata lists a mindboggling array of ingredients used in salads in the eighteenth century.
