Bright Green Summer Salad with a Crushed Olive, Mustard and Sundried Tomato Dressing
Returning with a hefty crate load of freshly picked vegetables from my weekly foraging in the greenhouses, today I am in complete and utter bliss. The highly anticipated runner beans are perfectly formed, slim and crunchy…the spinach and lettuces, fat and round, fanning huge, curling, juicy leaves and root vegetables that are simply so sweet and full of loud earthy flavours. My first harvest of baby heirloom tomatoes are so pretty – I’m actually fascinated by how perfect they are…ohh…this is a perfect mid week cure for the food fanatic.
Nothing makes me happier than a couple of hours in the outdoors. Whether it’s blackberry picking in the Cotswolds, or collecting mussels off the rocky coastlines in Hermanus , I really should have been born a farmer or a fisherwoman… the love of the land, the scent of freshly fallen rain on the soil and a dreamy view of rolling green hills with a pretty Tuscan style farmhouse set right in the middle of it all… this is still part of the big dream…
So, anyhow, back to today and real life. I’m looking at this gorgeous colourful harvest and I can’t wait to get cooking. However, the more I thought about it – the vegetables were just so perfect in their natural state, the less I wanted to change that. So, today’s recipe is truly very simple with a flavourful punchy dressing that is going to enhance all the vegetables. Quite often, we needlessly complicate cooking, when frankly, some things should just be left alone as the Great Maker had intended. Beautiful and Bright – this is a salad that is going to knock your socks off. Serve with a freshly baked Ciabbatta – tearing off pieces of bread, scooping up all the wonderful bits and pieces…simplicity at it’s best..
- 1 punnet baby heirloom tomatoes
- 250g French beans
- 12–15 shavings of fresh parmesan cheese
- 2–3 eggs
- 6 rashers of bacon
- 1 head lettuce, separated and washed
- 1 avocado, cut in half
- 1 small bunch fresh spinach, washed
- Salt and cracked pepper for seasoning
- 1 shot glass of water
- 1 tbs French mustard
- ½ cup black olives
- 1 tbs sundried tomatoes, finely chopped + 1 tbs oil from the jar
- Roughly tear up the spinach and lettuce leaves, spreading out across in your favourite salad platter. Season lightly with salt.
- Next heat a small frying pan and heat the bacon until crispy. Drain on a kitchen towel and set aside. Retain 1 tbs of bacon flavoured oil from this pan.
- Place a pan of water to boil and place the eggs gently to cook for 6–8 minutes. As soon as they are done, place them in cold water – this helps keep the yolk bright and yellow.
- Place another small pan of water to boil and par-boil the french beans for no more than 4 minutes. Immediately remove and plunge into a bowl of iced water. This helps them to retain their vibrant green colour and stops the cooking process. You want to keep your beans crunchy and fresh.
- Now, prepare your dressing. Simply place the chopped black olives, 1 tbs of oil from the bacon pan and the shot glass of water, the mustard, the sundried tomatoes and black pepper in a mortar and pestle. Pound and crush all the ingredients together until you have quite a chunky dressing. Don’t add any salt as the olives will add their own natural saltiness.
- Finally, assemble the salad. Scatter the baby heirloom tomatoes over the spinach and lettuce. Start to layer the eggs, bacon and parmesan cheese. Drizzle over the 1 tbs of oil from the sundried tomatoes. Place the dressing in the avocados as shown and serve up with some crisp baked Ciabatta.