The Fantastico Salad! (Salads)

Member Name: luigi0778

Product:	Salads
Date:	02/04/09 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to make, a meal of a salad!

Disadvantages: Relatively Expensive for a salad, Takes time to make it.

As we head into April, the thoughts of long hot summer evenings sat on the decking enjoying candlelit dinners, and drinks beneath the stars all still seem a distant dream.

A taste of summer can however be created at anytime of the year. An this delicious Italian Salad is my favourite. It looks elaborate, tastes fantastic, and is surprisngly very filling. In fact so much so, I would recommend serving this as a meal in itself, rather than accompanying something else.

Loosely and admittedly this recipe is very similar to a French Nicoise salad (minus the tuna), it is however Italian in origin. I particularly enjoy the contrast of flavours, from the bitter endive and salty anchovy fillets, to the sweetness of the fresh peas, its a lovely mouthful.


The Ingredients for 4 persons.

1 Cos Lettuce torn into pieces, or a Romaine heart.
1/2 Bitter Endive torn into pieces (optional if you don't like it)
5 On the vine cherry or Italian Plum tomatoes halved.
2 Eggs
5 Anchovy Fillets
100g French Beans
50g Broad Beans (shelled and raw)
50g Fresh Shelled Peas (or defrosted frozen ones)
1 Mozarella Ball, torn into pieces. (Buffalo's milk one,is recommended)
6 new potatoes.
5-6 slices of Salami (not a cheap one)
5-6 Leaves of Fresh Basil

8 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of White wine Vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
1 garlic clove crushed,
Salt and Pepper to season.
Parmesan Cheese (enough to get shavings).

How to make it, well it's surprisingly easy given the long list!

-Start to boil the new potatoes, add the whole eggs at the same time. While this is going on, add the Olive oil, mustard, wine vinegar, garlic and seasonings into a Jam jar, or Salad dressing container, and shake or whisk briskly.

-After about 6-8 minutes of a rolling boil, remove the hard boil eggs, and drop into COLD water and leave.

-Once the potatoes are cooked through, drain, remove from heat, slice quite thinly and add back to the pan, into this add just over half of the made-up salad dressing.

-Shell the (by now cooled) eggs, and slice into quarters.

- In a suitable flat large plate, add the salad leaves, peas, beans and french beans as a base. Once this is done, then neatly arrange with the remaining ingredients over the top (don't forget those new sliced potatoes in the pan!!!). Now using a potato peeler, shave some parmesan over the top.

- Once done, drizzle the remaining dressing over the whole lot.

- Serve and enjoy!

Summary: A taste of summer