Summer summer summertime!! That means salad, lots of lovely salad. We like this salad idea because it is fresh and zingy. The choice of vegetables is lovely. Chicory leaves are crisp. The toasted poppy seeds bring a wonderfully delicious edge to the dressing. The honey and mustard are well balanced.
This refreshing and attractive combination of ingredients is just perfect for hot summer days. Of which…we hope we have many more to look forward to this year.
INGREDIENTS
100g fresh podded peas
250g pack chicory
½ cucumber
½ x 200g pack radishes
2 ripe avocados
1 lemon, finely grated zest and juice
1 tbsp poppy seeds
3 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp light honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
METHOD
Bring some water to the boil in a small pan. Add the peas and blanch them for a minute, before transferring to some ice cold water. Drain the cooled peas and set them aside.
Prepare the salad vegetables. Using a mandolin )oh so very carefully) or a sharp knife, thinly slice the radishes. Trim the chicory and separate the leaves. Peel the outer skin from the cucumber, then cut in half lengthways. Remove the seeds with a teaspoon, slicing the remaining cucumber flesh slice thinly.
Place the lemon zest and juice in a small bowl. Halve the avocados and remove the stones and skin. Cut the flesh into slices then toss into the bowl with the lemon zest and juice.
To make the dressing, toast the poppy seeds in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes or until aromatic. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool. In a bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey together until thick, then add the toasted poppy seeds and some seasoning.
I found the dressing distinctly yellow, so rather than tossing all of the vegetables in the dressing and turning every dotty yellow, I prefer to build this salad up in layers. I place a third of the prepared vegetables, the chicory, radishes, cucumber, avocadoes and peas and then drizzle over a third of the dressing (so you can still see the natural green and pink of the vegetables. I repeat with two more layers. This works better for me. Serve immediately.
LADY LEWIS 