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