FLOWER POT KITCHEN: CURED MEAT SUMMER GARDEN SALAD

4 Jul 2013

CURED MEAT SUMMER GARDEN SALAD

A quick assembly of ingredients, some from the garden and some from the deli can quickly give you a beautiful deep hearty salad.

INGREDIENTS

(serves 4)

200g selection of cured sausages

100g jammon Serrano

200g left over roast chicken (optional)

10 baby plum tomatoes halved & seasoned

1/4 red pepper diced

2 spring onions finely chopped

4 lrg handfuls mixed salad leaves

handful of fresh chopped herb your choice, basil, coriander or parsley

FOR THE SALAD DRESSING

100ml ooil or sunflower oil

40ml white wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp marjoram finely chopped

1/2 tsp mustard

10 fresh basil bashed to a pulp

salt and white pepper to taste

Place all the salad dressing ingredients in a old jam jar and shake well to emulsify. You will get a lovely creamy old fashioned salad dressing, upon resting this will separate, just shake before serving.

I like to serve this salad in one large bowl for family style serving, toss the salad leaves in a little of the dressing just minutes before serving, reserving the rest for the table, and top with the tomato's, pepper and spring onion, then sprinkle over the chicken, layer and lift on the parma ham slices and finish off with the thin slices of cured sausage meats, finally sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

I love to serve this style of summer salad with a hunk of fresh bread, and a baked Camembert.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.