The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Those salad days are here all summer long
From Caesar to crab and potato, salads have variety. Don’t forget the anchovies, says MasterChef finalist
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the weather in Scotland bears no relation whatsoever to the foods one consumes. It is currently hailing. But it is July. Ergo, salad. Where salad for us – living as we are in the golden age beyond the 1970s – conjures up images of fresh, crisp, brightly coloured plates of exotic, juicy morsels just demanding to be devoured, my childhood salads were very different.
They consisted of sliced chopped pork from the deli counter at Presto, two undressed leaves of round lettuce, pickled onions from a jar, pickled beetroot from a jar, Heinz vegetable salad from a tin, cubed orange cheese and half a hardboiled egg in marie-rose sauce sprinkled with Cayenne pepper and, sometimes, a pineapple ring. If you were lucky, it was served with chips.
SUMMER VIBES
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. Flavour, however, is better, so I’ve got a few simple and delicious summer salad ideas for you that are bursting with freshness and tasty summer vibes.
A Caesar salad dressing is a thing of great versatility. Learn to make one well and you can add a fresh pop of flavour to almost anything. Firstly, let us take a moment to discuss anchovies. As far as a Caesar dressing goes they are 100% non-negotiable. There is nothing else that lends quite the right umami depth that you get from their salty deliciousness.
Worcestershire sauce is made from anchovies so if you eat that, you like anchovies. Soy sauce or miso paste almost work if you absolutely must, but know you will be judged.
MAKE CAESAR DRESSING
To make the perfect Caesar dressing crush or grate 1 garlic clove, finely chop 6 anchovy fillets (the oil packed ones are best) and whisk with 2 large egg yolks. Add 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and the juice of half a lemon and whisk until well blended. Add olive oil slowly, whisking all the time (a food processor or stick blender on a low setting will work well too) until you get to a pouring consistency similar to that of single cream. Add in a handful of grated fresh parmesan or grana padano and a good twist of black pepper and blend again. Add a little water if required to keep the texture loose. Use within 24 hours.
I love to serve this on halved grilled baby gem lettuce with extra anchovy fillets or crispy bacon lardons. Great for a sharing platter, or as a starter.
GO NICOISE
This zingy dressing works just as well with a nicoise-style salad. Just scatter a large serving dish with crunchy salad leaves such as romaine, and toss on some blanched green beans, boiled new potatoes, toasted hazelnuts, some good quality pitted kalamata olives then drizzle over the dressing. You can pad this out to make a more substantial supper dish by adding hot smoked salmon or even the leftover meat from your Sunday roast. Beef or lamb work particularly well. If you’re using beef, add a few chopped cornichons and for the lamb, an extra squeeze of lemon juice.
FETA AND WATERMELON
I love the flavour combination of fruit and veg in a salad and my current go-to is feta and watermelon. Use the best quality feta you can, a barrel-aged cheese will have a more rounded flavour and a pleasant brininess rather than a sharp hit of pure salt.
I use peppery leaves like rocket and watercress as the base and large chunks of watermelon ice-cold from the fridge. I sprinkle over crumbled feta and make a lemon and mint dressing with a few mint leaves, lemon juice, balsamic and olive oil. Some toasted nuts or croutons give an additional crunchy dimension. You can
swap out griddled peach wedges in place of the watermelon for a sweeter and more aromatic flavour too.
THERE ARE NO RULES. HOT, COLD, SWEET, SAVOURY. MAKE SALADS TO YOUR TASTE WITH WHATEVER YOU LIKE. AND BE BRAVE!
FRESH AND DELICIOUS CRAB
I delivered a private dining event recently where the brief was seafood and light dishes. So we started with a crab, fennel and grapefruit salad. A really simple little tower of white crab meat, shaved fennel and the sharp/sweet tang of ruby grapefruit. I buy dressed crab from the fishmonger and scoop out the brown meat for use in other recipes, but M&S do a little pot of white crab meat perfect for the job.
Shave the fennel using a mandoline or a very sharp knife and immediately place in cold water with lemon as it can turn brown very quickly. Segment the grapefruit leaving the bitter pith behind and mix some of the juice with olive oil and sea salt as a light dressing for the crab meat.
Make a quick salsa verde with soft herbs like dill, parsley and chervil and half a clove of crushed garlic and blend with white wine vinegar and olive oil. Dress the whole
thing in a light coating of this really fresh, herby mix for a rustic dish. Or you can fancy it up by placing the ingredients in layers using a ring mould. Either way, this is a fresh and delicious dish sure to please.
POTATOES DO A-PEEL
New potatoes are also a must for summer dining. Sweet and perfectly suited to salads, you’ll get decent ones in Scotland right up until the end of July or into early August. Jersey royals are of course synonymous with salads with their papery skin and waxy sweetness. But Anya, fingerling and Charlotte are also good options.
When living in the US, I was introduced to the German potato salad by my midwestern boss who made gallons of the stuff for our regular pot luck lunches.
Her recipe came from the old country and had been in her family for several generations, with each adding their own twist. Her recipe used unpeeled still-warm, diced potato and included Dijon and wholegrain mustards, sour cream, mayonnaise, gherkins, chopped
hard-boiled egg, spring onions and lots of black pepper. I make mine in almost the same way but with the addition of crispy bacon bits. Because no dish was not improved by the addition of bacon.
In fact our roasties at the weekend were new potatoes, oven baked in their skins with garlic, rosemary and olive oil. When well browned and tender, I crushed them a little with the back of a spoon and added a few dollops of the leftover bacon fat I keep in a mug in the fridge. There are few rules I adhere to in the kitchen, aside of course from the anchovy warning earlier. I will add one more however; throwing away bacon fat is unacceptable on every single level and must not be tolerated. This is liquid gold that will elevate almost any dish with its salty, savoury goodness.
The best thing about salads is that there are no rules. Hot, cold, sweet, savoury, Make them to your taste with whatever you like. Choose seasonal ingredients and you won’t go too far wrong. Create your own flavour combinations and be brave! Just remember, the anchovies are non-negotiable.