Bacon & Cashel Blue salad
Neven says: “I’ve used this delicious dressing from this salad just for lettuce leaves, but it would also be great poured over halved baby new potatoes, preferably Jersey Royals. Otherwise try adding a handful of crunchy croutons or a thinly sliced pear and a handful of roughly chopped walnuts”
MAKES 4
Ingredients
225g piece of rindless streaky bacon, cut into lardons 2 shallots, finely diced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
150g mixed baby salad leaves
1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced (core discarded) 225g Cashel Blue cheese, rind removed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Crusty French bread, to serve
Method
1 Fry the bacon lardons in a dry non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping warm. Add the shallots to the pan and sweat in the oil from the bacon for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.
2 Deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar, then stir in the extra virgin olive oil and mustard. Sprinkle in the parsley and season to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little for 1 minute.
3 Place the baby salad leaves in a bowl. Pour over the warm dressing and quickly toss to coat.
4 Just before serving, add the crispy bacon and apple and crumble the Cashel Blue cheese on top. Divide between plates and serve with plenty of crusty French bread.