CHARRED PEACH, CHICORY, BASIL AND MOZZARELLA WITH HOT HONEY
...and why you should be bold with your basil
We often think of herbs as a garnish. A sprig of parsley here, a lone leaf of basil there. We sprinkle over chives, finely chop our rosemary and use our sage sparingly. I’m all for it for the most part. I have a soft spot for the frilly parsley craze of the 70’s just as I do for a denim flare. But sometimes it’s good to be bold, both in life and in cooking. The next time a recipe instructs you to use a small handful of herbs, I encourage you to use a huge one. If it says roughly chop, try just not chopping. Let the leaves do their thing. Trust me. It’s good.
This is a salad in which to be bold. Think of the basil leaves as you would rocket leaves or spinach leaves. They are as much main characters in this salad as anything else.
If you’re cooking this for a dinner party, I recommend charring the peaches and washing the chicory ahead of time. Then you can assemble it just before sitting down. You can make the honey ahead of time too if you like (it will have a little more heat this way as will have infused for longer) but you’ll want to whack it back on the heat for 30 seconds or so before serving so that it has a nice drizzling consistency.
Serves 4
2 peaches
Olive oil
Sea salt
4 heads of red chicory, washed with leaves separated
A BIG handful of basil leaves
125g mozzarella
60g runny honey
A good pinch dried chilli flakes
Halve the peaches, remove the stones and slice each half into 3 wedges. Toss the chopped peaches in a bowl with a glug of olive oil and sea salt.
Heat a griddle pan to high, then cook the peaches for about 3 mins either side.
Heat the honey and chilli flakes over a gentle heat until bubbling then allow it to infuse a little.
In a large bowl toss the chicory leaves with the basil, another slosh of olive oil and pinch of salt.
Plate the dressed leaves onto a platter, top with the peaches, tear over the mozzarella. Drizzle over the hot honey. (you may want to whack it back on the heat to loosen it again)
MUSIC TO COOK TO
The 2014 album Salad Days by Mac DeMarco was the one I played on repeat when I was still running my snack company in my twenties. It got me through many long Sunday nights in the production kitchen and it’s still one I tune into when I spend a couple of hours in the kitchen. The above salad requires minutes, not hours but this album is a very good backtrack for when you do spend some time in the kitchen. Let Her Go, Goodbye Weekend and Salad Days are my top tracks.
Listen to Salad Days on Spotify
Find a printable version of this recipe below
Xxx