SS and I were at the airport, returning from our first year anniversary (yipeeeee) celebrations. Here is my favourite-est heart cake that was whipped up for us, specially, and tasted exceptional! Aptly named the Heart Cake, is the specialty of the chef, which was basically a white chocolate mousse draped with a thin almost non-existent spread of strawberry compote (red heart) and a milk and dark chocolate mousse. After these celebrations, and the 1000000000000000000000000 and 1 birthday/wedding/anniversary/engagement/baby shower/bridal shower parties and celebrations, I think it’s about time for a HEALTHY approach to the new year (well, who am I kidding? Just for now!) That’s where the airport story comes back in to play. So it as here that I found this wonderful book, Candle 79 which highlights modern vegetarian classics, form New York’s premiere sustainable restaurant. I grab. Do you blame me? So here is this sensational salad, adapted from Candle 79, using kalamata olives to make the dressing. Yum Yum Yum.
I’m not big on olives. I don’t like it on my pizza. If I walk into a subway store, 9 out of 10 times I would opt not to put olives on my sub. But this is different, it’s almost magical. And all that magic is in the dressing. So make sure that you use only kalamata olives, which are relatively easily available, although you will have to go through the process of pitting them yourself. You’ll be happy when you eat it, I guarantee. After all, no pain no gain, eh?
Vinaigrette Ingredients:
1. 1 tbs coarse good quality mustard (I used Indigo Deli’s House Mustard)
2. 1/4thcup white wine vinegar
3. 1 tbs finely diced shallot
4. ½ cup finely diced pitted olives
5. 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6. 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
7. 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
8. 1 tsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
9. Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well. Cover and leave to chill in the fridge till the salad is ready. Check seasoning.
Salad Ingredients:
1. 2 potatoes, cut into 1 ½ inch wedges
2. 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 1 cup cherry tomatoes
5. 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
6. 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
7. Small bunch mixed greens
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 175*c. Toss the potatoes with the seasoning and olive oil (Ingredients 1, 2 and 3). Arrange in a single layer in a roasting dish and roast until lightly browned and tender, approximately 30 minutes. Leave to cool.
2. Arrange all the vegetables in a bowl and toss together, then drizzle the vinaigrette and serve.
Feedback:
1. Make sure to use kalamata olives for the dressing.
2. You can prep the dressing a day in advance and cover and leave to infuse until required.
3. To make it more Mediterranean, try throwing in some sun dried tomatoes, or yellow/red peppers.
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