Darina Allen: Summer salad recipes, including this classic Caesar salad

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

We can't believe our good luck, day after day of clear skies and sunshine. Many of our cookery school students who hail from sunnier climates can't believe just how much of our conversation reverts back to the weather.
In some of their home countries, it's the onset of the rains that's celebrated with gusto, and I have to say I'm longing for a long night's rain myself to give us a break from watering plants and to fatten up the rhubarb stalks.
We've just dug the first new potatoes, an organic blight-resistant variety called Orla. The seed came from Fruit Hill Farm in Bantry, Co. Cork and they were planted in a tunnel in early February — such joy plus an opportunity to make a wish.
I give thanks to Mother Nature every year and the farmers and gardeners for the wonderful bounty of fresh produce that keeps coming week after week, we've just had the first cucumber too — the reward for planning seeds in spring.
All those bubbly stews, tagines, and casseroles lose their appeal in this weather; none of us wants to spend a moment more than necessary in a hot steamy kitchen but abundant salads piled high on plates get an enthusiastic response and bring a smile to everyone's face.
The possibilities are endless, there's still no definitive definition... could be just a pile of crunchy vegetables, maybe lots of fresh herbs, freshly roasted spices, a grilled salad, fruit alone, warm or at room temperature. We love lots of contrasts of texture and flavour, a meal in itself.
For a main course, a jammy hard-boiled egg adds protein as does cheese, could be just a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan or aged Coolea over a leafy green salad or some grilled halloumi or little balls of bocconcini. The combinations are only limited by your imagination. Warm grilled chicken, a few slices of rare beef fillet or fish, if you're lucky, a fresh mackerel or some crunchy squid rings on top and on and on…
However, it's worth remembering the golden rule: Always dress a leafy salad as close to serving as possible otherwise it will lose its freshness and become unappetisingly limp and soggy.
Super tasty dressings add magic and there are lots of exciting options that I'm loving in Clem Haxby's new cookbook, The Salad Project, plus tantalising pictures. It's easy to get stuck in a rut so this tome will ignite your imagination and tickle your tastebuds.
Here are a few of the many tempting salad recipes in Clem's cookbook that appealed to me.
Recipes from
The Salad Project by Clem Haxby, published by Ebury Press.
Sesame Soy Steak with Furikake Croutons, Pickled Chillies & Sesa-Miso Dressing
recipe by:Darina Allen
We love the combination of textures in this salad. It's piled with tons of great crunch but sometimes crunches that aren't backed up with some more filling body can leave you feeling a little hungry.
Servings
2
Preparation Time 
15 mins
Cooking Time 
45 mins
Total Time 
60 mins
Course 
Main
Ingredients 1 garlic clove
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp + 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
80ml tamari (for gluten-free) or light soy sauce
2 beef rump steaks
125g short grain brown rice
500ml water
½ tsp fine cooking salt
125g sourdough (stale or fresh) or bao buns
3 tsp furikake seasoning
100g green beans, ends trimmed
120g radishes
handful of pea shoots, watercress or rocket
handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 lime (juice)
sea salt
Ready to rock:
6 tbsp Sesa-Miso Dressing
2 tbsp pickled chillies
For the pickled chillies
150g mixed chillies
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine cooking salt
100ml white wine vinegar
For the Sesa-Miso Dressing
20 sesame seeds (black add lovely colour, but white are great too)
10g fresh ginger
80g tahini
30g white miso paste
40ml rice wine vinegar
40ml tamari or light soy sauce
80ml water plus extra if needed
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7.
Peel and crush your garlic, using the side of a knife or a garlic crusher to turn it into a smooth paste.
Place the crushed garlic, oyster sauce, two teaspoons of the sesame oil, and the tamari or soy sauce into a shallow dish or plastic container and whisk to combine. Add your steaks and cover well on both sides. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to come to room temperature.
Weigh the rice into a saucepan and measure in the water. Stir through the fine cooking salt. Bring the water to a boil over a medium-high heat, then place a lid on the pot (ideally a clear one so you can see if you need to add more water at any point) and lower the temperature to medium.
Allow this to simmer until the rice is cooked — roughly 25 minutes. (Simply add more water if it dries out and isn't fully cooked.)
Slice your bread of choice into chunky croutons and place in a roasting tray. Add the remaining two tablespoons of sesame oil, a generous pinch of sea salt and 2 teaspoons of the furikake seasoning. Mix well until your croutons are nicely coated.
Pop into the oven for five minutes, give them a shake, then return to the oven for a further five minutes until nicely golden and crunchy (if using bao buns, toast for 3-4 minutes total).
Meanwhile, place your green beans in a sieve and pop it beneath the lid of your rice pot while the rice is still cooking to steam the beans for 2-3 minutes. Remove and run under cold water to stop the cooking, then set aside.
Top and tail the radishes and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place in a bowl of cold water to crisp up.
Now all your vegetables and croutons are ready, heat a dry frying pan over a high heat. Once really nice and hot, use tongs to place your steaks into the pan, pressing down for a second to help them caramelise.
Leave the steaks to cook on one side for three minutes before flipping over for rare, or five minutes if you would like them medium. Spoon a couple of teaspoons of the leftover marinade over the steaks and cook for a further three minutes for a rare steak, five minutes for medium.
Remove from the pan and drape over an upside-down cereal bowl on a lipped plate (to allow the juices to run out without them going everywhere). Allow both steaks to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
While they rest, cover your serving platter or plates with pea shoots, watercress, or rocket, and gently spoon over your rice. Sprinkle over the green beans, radishes and half of the croutons. Dress with three tablespoons of Sesa-Miso Dressing.
Slice your steaks into 2cm-thick slices, going against the grain of the meat. Sprinkle the slices with the remaining teaspoon of furikake seasoning. Lie your steak slices over your salad and top with the remaining croutons and the pickled chillies. Finish with some coriander leaves, lime juice, and another three tablespoons of your Sesa-Miso Dressing.
For the Sesa-Miso Dressing: Place your sesame seeds into a dry pan and place over a medium heat, swirling the pan constantly, until they are nice and toasted — about 3-4 minutes. Set aside. Peel your ginger using the edge of a teaspoon and grate into a blender.
Add the remaining ingredients, excluding your toasted sesame seeds, and blitz until smooth. You can also just pop all your ingredients into a jar and give it a good shake if you don't mind a bit of texture from the ginger.
Finish by stirring through your toasted sesame seeds and adjusting the texture with a little extra water, if needed but I'd recommend keeping this dressing on the thicker side, in case you want to use it as a noodle sauce.
Store in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to one week.
For the pickled chillies: Slice your chillies into 2mm rings using a knife or a mandolin. Place the chilli slices and their seeds into a jar or airtight container.
Add the sugar, salt, and vinegar and stir well. Finally, add boiling water until the chillies are just covered.
Put the lid on and shake well to dissolve the sugar and salt, then label and leave to pickle for a minimum of 30 minutes.
The longer you leave these, the more they will mellow and build tang. Keep in the pickling liquid in the fridge for up to three weeks.
Recipe from 'The Salad Project' by Clem Haxby, published by Ebury Press.
The SP Caesar with Chipotle Caesar Dressing
recipe by:Darina Allen
Here we have our classic SP Caesar, loaded with spiced chicken, juicy tomatoes, and crispy onions, but don't stop there. Get creative and customise. Go wherever the wind takes you — just don't use iceberg lettuce, please.
Servings
2
Preparation Time 
20 mins
Cooking Time 
10 mins
Total Time 
30 mins
Course 
Main
Ingredients ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garlic granules
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp fine cooking salt
1 ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
425g mini chicken fillets
50g kale, destemmed, rinsed and dried
1 lemon (juice)
½ baby gem lettuce, leaves whole, rinsed and dried
100g cherry tomatoes
40g Parmesan
sea salt and black pepper
Ready to rock:
6 tbsp Chipotle Caesar dressing
4 tbsp crispy onions
For the Chipotle Caesar dressing
35g Parmesan
1 garlic clove
130g mayonnaise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp white wine vinegar
½ lemon (juice)
3 black peppercorns
generous bunch of cayenne pepper, plus extra to taste (optional)
¼ tsp smoked paprika, plus extra to taste (optional)
1 tsp sea salt
25ml water
For the crispy onions
2 white onions or 4 shallots
2 tsp cornflour
350ml vegetable oil
fine cooking salt
Method
Measure the spices, salt, and ½ teaspoon of olive oil into a medium mixing bowl and stir well to combine into a paste. Add the chicken fillets and use your hands to coat until the fillets are all well-dressed. Set aside at room temperature to marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Finely chop the kale and place into a large mixing bowl. Dress with the juice of half of the lemon, a pinch of sea salt, and a grind of black pepper. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the leaves to help soften and enhance the flavour.
Tear the lettuce leaves from the core and add them whole to the kale, gently folding through to distribute them evenly.
Add two tablespoons of chipotle Caesar dressing and use your hands to toss through.
Slice your tomatoes into halves and set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add your marinated chicken fillets. Once sizzling, reduce the heat to medium-high to avoid the outsides burning. Cook for 7-8 minutes, flipping the fillets with tongs every couple of minutes, until nicely golden and cooked through. Remove from the heat and squeeze over the juice from the other half of the lemon, then finish with a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Load the dressed leaves onto a serving plate, then grate over half of the Parmesan using a microplane or fine grater. Pile on your tomatoes and half the crispy onions.
After they've had a couple of minutes to rest, slice the chicken fillets (or leave whole) and lay them onto the salad.
Top with the remaining Chipotle Caesar Dressing, the remaining crispy onions, and the grated Parmesan. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a hefty grind of black pepper.
Tip: Make it your own by adding 10 tinned anchovies and one tin of sweetcorn.
For the Chipotle Caesar dressing
Grate your Parmesan using a microplane or a fine grater and set aside. Peel and crush your garlic using the side of a knife or a garlic crusher and a little sea salt to help turn it into a smooth paste.
Place all the ingredients, excluding the water, into a blender and blitz until silky smooth. Gradually add the water and mix with a fork or small whisk until you reach your desired consistency.
Play with the spice level by adding more cayenne pepper for a hotter Caesar, or more paprika for something a little smokier. Store in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to one week.
For the crispy onions
Finely slice the onions or shallots using a knife or a mandolin – you can either slice into full rings or half-moons. Place into a bowl. Add the cornflour and toss with your hands to lightly coat the onions.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat – test it's reached a high enough temperature by dropping in a piece of onion and seeing if it sizzles. When it's hot enough, add the onions to the oil, working in batches to avoid overcrowding, and allow to fry until golden and crispy.
Remove using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Season generously with salt and allow to cool while you cook the next batch.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If they go a little soft, just crisp them up in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Recipe from 'The Salad Project' by Clem Haxby, published by Ebury Press.
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