Each time I visit this narrow indoor Sanyuanli food market situated just inside the 3rd ring road on Sanyuanlu to the west of Sanyuanqiao, my mind runs amuck with ideas for new feasts to cook up. This weekend it was a "posh" Salade Nicoise.

The fresh fish stalls midway down the market are impressive with a wide range of both the familiar and unfamiliar. Plaice, mackerel, bass, salmon, mullet - the list goes on. The fresh scallops are wonderful pan fried with a little ginger, garlic and chili, and the ingredients for a Spanish paella were screaming out at me - fresh squid, live prawns of varying sizes and little baby clams. You can even buy the requisite saffron and short grain rice (paella type) in the grain & dried herbs stalls. For the nicoise, I went for a 500g slab of silvery fresh tuna, which sold for 14 kuai per jin.

At the far end of the market are the vegetable and salad stores, beautifully laid out. I bought a sizeable bunch of peppery roquette (arugula) for the basis of the salad and handfuls of leafy basil and coriander (cilantro), which I crushed with lime juice and garlic to marinade the tuna for 20 to 30 minutes. Many fresh herbs can be found here - thyme and sage - excellent for scattering over lamb or pork chops before grilling. And there are young, tender mint leaves, which combined with juicy little Thai limes (also available), brown sugar and light rum, make not so nutritionally sound but nevertheless tasty Mojitos.

Last December, I returned home with vast amounts of feathery dill, which I mixed with white sugar, salt and peppercorns, then smothered over two sides of salmon (also purchased there). These were then sandwiched together in cling film and cured in the fridge for two to three days, resulting in a rather tasty homemade Gravadlax for starters on Christmas day.

There is a mushroom store with every variety imaginable, baby carrots with their tops on, sweet fennel bulbs, multi-colored squashes and a great selection of salad leaves. I plumped for yellow courgettes (zucchini) and baby yellow and red tomatoes for roasting. I then mixed these with blanched broad beans, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and added this to the salad.

The meat displays are fresh and enticing. Mutton is more available here than lamb, but this can be tenderized via submersion in a concoction of carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and red wine, and slowly cooking on the bone for around three hours. I usually serve this with green lentils or flageolet beans, available here in dried form.

On the right, past the fruit stores, is a wonderful stand selling fresh sesame paste. Blend a few teaspoons with a cup of chickpeas, some garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and paprika to make hummus. Serve this with plain or flavored flat bread from the surrounding stalls.

Returning to the dish in hand: Heat a frying (preferably a griddle) pan with a little olive oil, then sear the tuna on each side for around four minutes, depending on how pink you like it. Add a few soft-boiled quail's eggs (from the market) to the salad and serve the tuna on top with a squeeze of lemon juice and a twist of pepper. Haochi!

This nutrition-related column is written by Nina Lenton, a qualified dietitian living in Beijing and working at Bayley and Jackson Medical Center. Contact her at nina.lenton@bjhealthcare.com.

(China Daily 09/19/2007 page14)