Since the weather became good (finally!), I've been making a lots of salads. They're so quick to prepare and very satisfying. You can add anything you like to the salad, but just makes sure you include something from each of the following options:
- salad leaves
- cheese e.g. dolcelatte, soft goats' cheese, fried halloumi, manchego
- meat e.g. fried bacon lardons/pancetta, proscuitto, parma ham, salami, cooked ham
- fruit e.g. fresh figs, baked/glazed pears or peachers, grapes
- a tasty dressing e.g. honey mustard, or even a very simple white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
- bread e.g. toasted and sliced pitta bread, walnut and raisin, sour dough
+ any other tasty morsels/left overs (I made a praline using peanuts and caramel recently. It made a great finishing flourish to a salad which included halloumi, since the praline off set the saltiness of the cheese perfectly)
Here's a detailed recipe of one of my favourite salads:
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- Bag of peppery salad leaves e.g. water cress and rocket
- 1 red onion
- Bacon lardons
- Goats' cheese - creamy and mild
- Dressing (10 walnuts ground finely, 3 tbsp extra virgin oil, half a chilli finally chopped, half tbsp white wine vinegar, salt and pepper)
Method:
- Begin by peeling and slicing the red onion into 1cm thick rounds
- Place the onion slices on an oven tray, drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes or until soft.
- Arrange the leaves, and small chunks of goats' cheese on a serving plate
- Fry the bacon lardons until golden and crispy, add to the dish.
- Add the onion slices
- Finally drizzle on the dressing, just before serving
