salads: September 2007 Archives

This week I bring you a more-ish warm salad, inspired by that Moorish London restaurant on Exmouth Market. This one's for Tara, who has abandoned me at Chez Panisse to go and work at Moro for a while. Hopefully I'll get some more yummy Spanish recipes from her as a result.

All still goes well in the restaurant kitchen. I've had good days (another soup proclaimed 'delicious' by the chef), bad days (a soup proclaimed only fit for the compost), fun days (sausage-stuffing, lemon-preserving, chicken-boning kinda days) and bizarre days (such as the day I lost my bra strap somewhere in the restaurant, lord knows how or when, but it must be there somewhere...).

So, I've managed to reach Week 52, which means I must have left London a whole year ago.  To show off my new skills after a year of culinary studies in the Bay Area, I find myself now sending you a recipe that basically says, 'get some prosciutto, melon and figs and put them together on a plate.'  I have learnt more complicated stuff, honest, like boning out and stuffing whole ducks, but thought that as delicious as the ducky ballotine is, you'd be more likely to spend 20 mins throwing these three gorgeous ingredients together. 

Figs and melons are classic Italian pairings for prosciutto.  This dish beautifully combines the three.  It is served as an appetiser at the Chez Panisse Café during the summer when figs and melons are at the peak of their season.  For best results prepare everything at the last minute (but make sure the ingredients are at room temperature first).