Catalan salad is popular all over Catalonia and each region adds or omits certain ingredients depending on their availability in the home or in the season. In the mountain area in spring, it is made with chicory and watercress; you can also add carrot and celery, or different types of olives. And some people add slices of hard-boiled egg and tuna in olive oil. To make a good salad it is very important that the two main groups of ingredients do not mix on the plate. The vegetables, well seasoned with salt, oil and vinegar, must be on one side; and the freshly sliced cured meats and sausages should be arranged next to each other, but without touching the dressing, as otherwise the sliced meats become oily. It is a good idea to buy the cured meats beforehand and to store them carefully in the larder. If they have to be kept in the fridge, they should be taken out a day or two beforehand and left to air.