Because salad doesn’t have to be boring…
Our neighbour has a huge garden and every year she shares boxes of fruit which we make into salads and enjoy with a glass (or two) of chilled cava.
Ingredients:
- 3 Nectarines or peaches
- 3 Tomatoes
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Basil – a large handful
- Chopped pistachios
- Vinaigrette – preferably homemade
- 200g feta cheese
- Balsamic glaze
For your vinaigrette:
- extra virgin olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- fresh lemon juice
- maple syrup
- sea salt and black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, taste and adjust the seasoning to taste.
For your salad:
- Cut your nectarines or peaches into thin slices.
- Slice the tomatoes and finely chop the pistachios. Tear some of the basil leaves into smaller pieces, saving some whole leaves for garnish.
- Make your vinaigrette (see above)
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced nectarines or peaches, halved tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, pistachios and basil leaves.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and gently toss everything together until well coated.
- Serve the salad immediately or let it chill in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle a little extra feta and some more fresh basil on top before serving. Add a few drops of Balsamic glaze for a lovely extra flavour boost.
Tips:
- Your nectarines or peaches should be ripe but still firm enough to retain their shape. Too ripe and they will tend to mush when combining with the other ingredients.
- Use any tomatoes that are fully ripe. If you use cherry tomatoes, they should be halved.
- This basic recipe is easily adaptable. Use finely sliced red onion if you want a sharper flavour. Goats cheese, balsamic vinaigrette and kalamata olives all go well and if you want lettuce, try some little gem.
Balsamic glaze is made by reducing balsamic vinegar and adding sugar. Sweeter than balsamic vinegar, the glaze is also thicker / viscous texture which makes it ideal for dressing salads. Use it also on meats and fish where you want the flavour of balsamic but not the runny vinegar consistency.
HEAL 