Angela Hartnett’s ricotta and spring vegetable salad
Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 4:16PM 
My Dad was given a copy of Angela Hartnett’s Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Cooking by a good friend of ours. He was visiting from Australia and left it with me to lighten his load while he was travelling around. When he returned to Australia he forgot to reclaim it and what a happy accident that was. I love it!
One of my favourite of the recipes I have tried is her ricotta and spring vegetable salad. Apart from being quick and easy to make, it is wonderfully versatile. It works just as well as an accompaniment to meat in a main course, in particular lamb, or as a starter and ingredients can be substituted according to what you have in your fridge. Hartnett herself attests to this versatility:
In southern Italy they have firm, salted ricotta, which is grated over salads and pastas like parmesan, but I like the cool, soft ricotta in the salad against the crunch of the spring vegetables. You could also use goat’s cheese, and whatever vegetables are available.
Spring vegetable salad with pork and potatoesI have never made the recipe to the letter. I prefer ricotta in desserts, finding it too bland for savoury dishes, so I have always substituted it for a creamy Danish feta that they sell at the Turkish food market where I buy much of my fruit and veg. I think the saltiness of the feta, and so too the ricotta she describes from the traditional recipe, is crucial in offsetting the bitterness of the chicory. Although I do agree with Hartnett that a soft textured cheese is best, hence my preference for the creamy Danish feta rather than the firmer Greek style.
In addition, I have taken her advice and used whatever vegetables are available; I have used mange tout or runner beans in place of green beans and often add pea shoots as well as chicory. On occasion I have used just peas or just broad beans, rather than both, although it really works best with the two.
The original recipe is printed below. Find out what works best for you.
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette
Method
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the fennel and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the asparagus for a further 2 minutes, followed by the green beans, peas and broad beans for another 3 minutes. Drain and refresh immediately in cold water.
Put the chicory and blanched vegetables into a large bowl and mix together.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the oil, wine vinegar and seasoning to taste. Add about three-quarters of the vinaigrette to the vegetables and toss to combine.
Divide the salad between four individual bowls and evenly distribute small teaspoons of ricotta over and around the salad. Finish by drizzling over the remaining vinaigrette.
As well as substituting ingredients, there are also a few things I do differently in terms of method. The most significant is that I never cook the fennel. I think thinly sliced, raw fennel, is better suited to this light and refreshing salad, in keeping with the crunch of the other vegetables. If you think you might prefer this too, cut the fennel in half lengthways, trim off any stalk at the top and slice like you would an onion, so that you end up with thin crescent-shaped strands. Since the taste of raw fennel is stronger than when it has been cooked, I recommend using half the amount, so that it does not overpower the other flavours.
I also prefer to steam the green beans and asparagus and, since I like my asparagus quite firm, I put the beans on first rather than the other way round. I also think the salad works well when served warm, so I usually prepare the vinaigrette and raw vegetables first and tend to skip the cold water.
Don’t fret too much about amounts of things either; apart from the chicory and fennel, which both have the potential to overpower, you can pretty much use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.
I think it is safe to say that I have proven the versatility of this salad. As you can see I have made it many times... sadly, last night may be the last for a while; the boyfriend doesn't like it, apparently it is 'too vegetably'.
Vix
The boyfriend says "you better watch out, honey, or pretty soon you might be writing about the ex-boyfriend." Ha!
Reader Comments (9)
Their our funny spotty plates with the pork!! Just think now their famous, I'm glad they went to a good home.
Not famous yet, Dashy, since all my current readers are my friends! :)
I tried out this salad at a family dinner party in Dartmouth Devon.I had bought all the ingredients except for the chicory - and then it turned out there was none to be found in the South Hams.Even so, it was a stunner.Like you Vix i used raw fennel not cooked. I used broad beans and peas and got my brother in law to peel the skins off the broad beans which makes them even more tender and gorgeous, and even though he hated doing it he agreed! I used a combo of greek feta ( no Danish to be found) and mild goats cheese - I liked the bite of the flavour and the consistency. I used Angela's vinaigrette but wondered whether one of yours would work better- because I thought it rather bland, but maybe it was because I was missing the chicory flavour. Anyway it is a brilliant salad and I can't wait to experiment with it again .
I think this salad definitely needs a full flavoured vinaigrette, as you suggest, but I think the chicory also adds an important dimension to the salad. Like I said, chicory has a strong, bitter flavour which could easily overpower were it not for the cheese, but together they work very well. I can see how you might have found the salad bland without it, although I have never made it without chicory myself so cannot comment from experience.
The mixture of cheeses is an interesting choice to make. It is not something that I personally would have done, how did you find it?
Agreed on the broad beans, unless they are fresh out of the garden, they are better peeled. It was you who convinced me of that when I made this dish for you, so thank you.
I experimented last night - served this salad ( with the chicory this time) - with grilled tandoori chicken and a side dish of raita. Dad reckoned the combination really worked.He must have liked it , he took the left overs to work in his lunch box! This time I cooked the fennel, but I definititely prefer it uncooked. I bought some fresh shelled peas from Joe and Roy's Italian Deli down the hill in Balmain. They were deliciously sweet and added a texture you don't get with snow peas, even though they are delicious too. Thanks so much for introducing me to this recipe.It is going to become one of my staples.
I can imagine it would go very well with tandoori. I wonder whether it would be worth trying it with a labneh (a middle eastern cheese made from strained yoghurt) another time, you could put a few sprigs of mint on top and then you wouldn't have to make the raita. Yes, I also like it best with fresh peas, rather than snow peas (that's mange tout for UK readers). It is a pity they are only around for such a short season in England.
Last night I made yet another variation of this wonderful recipe. I am in the Pyrenees - it is hot - hot - hot . This salad was a perfect choice for a heatwave dinner. As we only buying local produce from local market our choice of vegetables was limited to what is seasonal.Luckily chicory(endive) and fennel are both in season - also cannelli beans - great alternative to broad beans but no asparagus.I substituted mushrooms - a good choice I think , like asparagus it is a distinctive flavour to set against the chicory and fennel. I cooked the beans - and poured half the vinaigrette over them while they were still warm - worked a treat . You are so right - this is a marvellously versatile recipe.
Hi Ma, I am so glad that you love it as much as me. I will have to test it out with mushrooms some time.
Hi Vicky, I served this salad to great acclaim at the weekend. Pretty much by the book re selection of ingredients , but substituting goats cheese for ricotta. Stunning recipe. Can’t believe it has been a decade since we began blogging about it. Where did that 10 years go?