T his week we are moving towards winter salads – dishes perfect for when darkness has arrived but we’re not quite ready to leave behind the feeling of heat and light on our skin. Salads still have a massive part to play in our cooking over the next few months; they just have a different ethos.
The trick at this time of year comes in moving to more robust ingredients, namely cabbages and kale, root vegetables and bitter leaves. Luckily, we have loads of winter produce thanks to the polytunnels and controlled environments modern farming now offers. This week’s recipes focus on bitter leaves and kale, both packed with flavour and nutrition. They show that fancy food can also be healthy.
First up it’s the bitter leaves, in what we call a “Green Goddess” dressing. It’s essentially like a salsa verde with some dairy added to let it out a bit. This coats a mixture of mustard leaf, baby gem and deep red radicchio. The contrast of herbs, acid and capers with the bitter leaves is beautiful alongside a range of dishes. I’ve topped this with some toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan to give it a nutty, creamy finish. This can be served as a standalone dish but is also beautiful alongside a steak, some roasted chicken or dare I say ... at the Christmas table.
The second salad involves stunning Irish kale, which will be in abundance over the next few weeks. It’s both robust and tough to eat in its raw form so it gets a little blanch and refresh in iced water before we start cooking it. After that, it’s dried off and the classic Caesar dressing is applied. This involves blending a collection of ingredients that pack a punch: mustards, anchovy, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, Parmesan and sea salt make up the foundation before being mixed with some vegetable oil to a salad cream texture. The kale gets a liberal lathering before it’s crowned with crispy fried breadcrumbs and some more Parmesan. Like its predecessor, this is beautiful on its own or you can power it up with some poached fish or a crispy skinned chicken breast for a midweek meal that delivers on flavours while also providing autumnal fuel.
Tip of the week: Kale can be tough when raw, so give it little blanch and ice bath before cooking.