Taken, and somewhat abused, from the Ottolenghi recipe book, this has become my go to salad when I have company coming and I need either a starter or a salad that's strong enough to stand on it's own. In the picture below I've served it with some olive bread (made with a recipe from the dough cookbook but that's for another story). This salad isn't your typical limp, delicate creature. The flavours are robust and served with a good bread, this should make for a fully satisfying lunch.
Be warned here - there's a fair amount of prep with this one.
Ingredients
For the salad
350g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 rashers of prosciutto ham, ripped into chunks
140ml olive oil
24 asparagus spears
2 Courgettes
200g haloumi, in 2cm slices
25g rocket
Plenty of salt & pepper
Basil Oil
75ml olive oil
1 garlic clove
25g basil leaves
Pinch of salt
1/4tsp black pepper
Preheat the oven to 170C. Mix the tomatoes with a tablespoon of the oil Nd season well before spreading out on a baking sheet, skin side down. Roast for 50 minutes then leave to cool.
Trim the asparagus and blanch for 4 minutes in a large pan. Drain and refresh under cold water to stop the cooking process, leave to drain fully whilst you prep the courgettes. Slice the courgettes very thinly lengthwise and place into a large bowl with the now fully drained asparagus. Toss with 3tbsps of the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
Place a griddle pan on a high heat and allow to warm up. Grill the courgettes and asparagus, turning them over after about a minute. You're looking for char marks on all sides before you remove them from the pan and leave to cool. Whilst the pan is still hot, chargrill the cheese for a about 2 mins on each side - until char marks have been left on each side.
To make the basil oil, put all the ingredients in an blender until smooth - the quantities here will give you far more than you need but I fine it's a great staple to have in the fridge. I use it on pasta, salads, even in risottos.
To assemble, arrange the rocket, vegetables, ham and cheese in layers on a flat serving plate. Drizzle with as much basil oil as you like and serve.
Be warned here - there's a fair amount of prep with this one.
Ingredients
For the salad
350g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 rashers of prosciutto ham, ripped into chunks
140ml olive oil
24 asparagus spears
2 Courgettes
200g haloumi, in 2cm slices
25g rocket
Plenty of salt & pepper
Basil Oil
75ml olive oil
1 garlic clove
25g basil leaves
Pinch of salt
1/4tsp black pepper
Preheat the oven to 170C. Mix the tomatoes with a tablespoon of the oil Nd season well before spreading out on a baking sheet, skin side down. Roast for 50 minutes then leave to cool.
Trim the asparagus and blanch for 4 minutes in a large pan. Drain and refresh under cold water to stop the cooking process, leave to drain fully whilst you prep the courgettes. Slice the courgettes very thinly lengthwise and place into a large bowl with the now fully drained asparagus. Toss with 3tbsps of the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
Place a griddle pan on a high heat and allow to warm up. Grill the courgettes and asparagus, turning them over after about a minute. You're looking for char marks on all sides before you remove them from the pan and leave to cool. Whilst the pan is still hot, chargrill the cheese for a about 2 mins on each side - until char marks have been left on each side.
To make the basil oil, put all the ingredients in an blender until smooth - the quantities here will give you far more than you need but I fine it's a great staple to have in the fridge. I use it on pasta, salads, even in risottos.
To assemble, arrange the rocket, vegetables, ham and cheese in layers on a flat serving plate. Drizzle with as much basil oil as you like and serve.
