Asparagus and snap pea salad with basil pistou, mozzarella and prosciutto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 bunch asparagus (about 5-6 of the fattest spears you can find!)
150g sugar snap peas
4 – 5 thin slices of proscuitto
1 x 100g buffalo mozzarella
1 lemon for zesting
Vinaigrette:
1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced
1 Tbls. chardonnay vinegar
2 Tbls. Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pistou*
1 large bunch basil, leaves picked (about 3 cups of loosely packed basil leaves)
1/3 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil + a little more
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup micro-plane grated Parmigiano Reggiano, lightly packed
Salt & black pepper
*This makes more pistou than the recipe calls for, but store it in a jar in the fridge for the next few days and have it in your scrambled eggs, on your avocado toast, toss through pasta or spoon into soups. Pistou never sits around my house for too long so I hope you’re the same.
Method:
Bring a blanching pot of salted water to the boil.
To prep the asparagus, hold each spear in both your hands, closer to the bottom than the top and snap the woody ends off, they will snap where they naturally should. Peel the bottom 1/3rd of the spear with a vegetable peeler and cut on a slight diagonal into 2cm long pieces.
To prep the snap peas, use a paring knife to gently cut into the stem end but not all the way through and use that to help you pull away and peel the “zippers” from the inside of each snap pea. Cut into 2cm lengths on the diagonal.
Blanch both veggies, separately in the boiling water, for about a minute each. Allow it to come back to a boil in-between blanching each vegetable. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place into a large bowl together. You can refrigerate this to cool it down a bit quicker but I do not plunge into ice water as I feel this rinses them of flavour.
To make the pesto, blanch the basil in the same pot of boiling water, for about 10 seconds, strain and then when cooled, squeeze all the water out. Add it to a blender with the garlic and 1/3 cup of olive oil and salt and pepper. If when blending, the machine is not catching everything, drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil at a time until it starts running smoothly. Let it run for about 30 seconds, to make it as smooth as possible. Don’t blend for much longer as the heat of the blender may turn it brown. Remove it from the blender, and pour it into a bowl. Fold through the grated Parmigiano Reggiano, a pinch of salt, black pepper and a little lemon zest.
Grab another small bowl to mix the vinaigrette. Add the diced eschallot, a pinch of salt and the chardonnay vinegar let this sit for about 10-15 minutes to soften the onion. Then mix in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the veggies, toss to combine.
Add a heaped spoonful of the pistou to the veggies and stir through, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice, if needed.
Add the vegetables to the plate. I like to tear the mozzarella into pieces for a more natural look, you are welcome to slice it, though. Place the mozzarella on top of the veggies, add some lemon zest and grated parmesan and then a few thinly sliced pieces of prosciutto. Drizzle with a bit more extra virgin olive oil.
