Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Grilled Peach Salad

This salad ticks all my boxes for summer eating.  Fresh, in-season produce, delicious ingredients that compliment each other and quick and easy to prepare.  Whenever I'm cooking simple food I always think about Nigel Slater, one of my favourite writers and cooks.  He always comes up trumps with recipes that are simple but flavoursome, inspiring and all about the flavours.   Here are some of his thoughts on food

"I passionately believe that anyone can make themselves something good to eat. Cooking is a whole lot easier than many people think. Good cooking–real cooking–is within the grasp of anyone with an appetite and a few pots and pans. There is nothing difficult about it (it is only supper after all), so we can pretty much ignore all that stuff about it being “an art,” “a science” or “a gift.”
It takes no expertise to heat some butter and a squashed clove of garlic in a shallow pan till it froths and bubbles, then slide in a piece of chicken. Let it cook till its skin is crisp and golden, then squeeze in half a lemon and serve it with its pan juices and a leafy salad to mop them up. Anyone can slap a lamb chop on a hot grill pan, throw a handful of pasta into bubbling water or put an apple to bake in a hot oven. I work from the not unreasonable premise that if someone can make a cup of coffee then they can probably roast themselves a chicken.
Real cooking is not about making fancy stocks and sauces, piping purees and perfecting spun-sugar baskets. Real cooking is about making ourselves something to eat that involves a bit of simple roasting, grilling or frying. Nothing complicated. But it is cooking, rather than opening a packet or a tin. As you will see, real cooking is also about the little things–the small points that turn straightforward cooking into good cooking. The attention to detail that makes a simple supper into something sublime." 

True.

To make this salad you will need:
6 peaches, cut in half and pitted
salt
1small red onion, sliced
couple handfuls of rocket (arugula)
ball of mozarella
4tbsp of white balsamic vinegar
2tsp honey
2tsp dijon/wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp chopped chives
olive oil
creme fraiche or cream



1. Heat grill and after lightly salting the peaches, drizzle with olive oil and place cut side down on the grill.  When they begin to soften and char, remove and set aside.
2.  To make the dressing, place the vinegar, honey, mustard and chives in a bowl and whisk, slowly adding the oil, then the creme fraiche.. 
3. Toss the rocket and onion with the vinaigrette and place on a dish before adding the peaches and mozarella.

Simple and delicious. Enjoy

*image credits: farmhousedelivery

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