Spring is upon us, and I believe this is a perfect time for taking a break from sumptuous desserts and pastries and explore the light side of eating. – I do not know how it is for you, but the moment the warmth of the first spring sun rays starts tickling you out of your winter nest and lures you into the streets of the city, its cafes and bars, restaurants, parks and avenues, I almost immediately loose all appetite for those comforting stews, thick soups and rich butter and cream desserts associated with winter cooking. So Cyrus and I have recently engaged in rather light foods with salads and fresh fruit high up on our menu, and so I thought I should share a recipe for a light and fresh starter salad here which I prepared recently. It is not very complicated or out of the ordinary, and more meant to inspire rather than to preserve the recipe in stone letters. As with all foods – especially those that appear simple -, the key really is the quality of the ingredients.
Sanni
Ingredients (for 2 portions):
- ca. 80 to 100 grams of lamb’s lettuce
- 1 large radish
- 1 large brown mushroom
- 3 roma cherry tomatoes
- 2 dried apricots
- parmesan shavings
- high quality olive oil (choose a light and fruity olive oil)
- cranberry (or another berry or cherry) vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper, salt
Preparation:
- Wash an dry the lettuce, place on individual plates.
- Thinly slice the radish, the mushroom and the dried apricot. Cut the tomatoes into quarters.
- Arrange radish, mushroom, and tomatoes between the lettuce leaves. Sprinkle the apricots strips over the salad and garnish with parmesan shavings.
- Dress with olive oil and vinegar, and season with freshly ground black pepper and salt. (I usually use and recommend a mix of black peppers and sichuan pepper for seasoning; the sichuan pepper in particular adds a nice citrusy flavour.)
- Enjoy immediately.
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