Baby Spinach, Prosciutto, Apple and Nut Salad
Baby spinach, prosciutto, apple and nut salad
Are you looking a bit puzzled at the vast array of ingredients in this salad? Possibly doubting the unusual combination? Well don’t be puzzled or perplexed! It isn’t just a random mix of mumbo jumbo! It is actually an Italian Salad! The only difference is that this salad uses prosciutto while the traditional salad uses Bresaola.
So what is bresaola exactly and why in the world was it replaced in this salad? Firstly, bresaola is basically beef rubbed with spices and air-cured in the Valtellina, a long Alpine valley in Northern Italy. Bresaola has quite a strong flavour and is usually served sliced very thinly. Unlike prosciutto, bresaola is completely lean, with no discernible striations of fat. When sliced paper-thin, it appears almost translucent.
So there I was at my local deli, talking to the friendly Italian lady serving me, when she announced with much gusto and passion (and in a bouncing Italian accent) that “You can only buy bresaola in Italy! I have never seen it in Australia, EVER!” What was I to do? I couldn’t very well, pack my bags and head off to Italy just to buy 100g of Bresaola. That would have been just slightly excessive, so I decided on the flavour-filled prosciutto instead. It complements the salad really well by bringing strong smoky flavours. The great thing also about this salad is that the spinach, prosciutto, nuts and apple harmonise really well because they bring such different taste sensations together! This really is a must try if you want to taste a salad with a difference!
Baby Spinach, Prosciutto, Apple and Nut Salad
Ingredients: ¼ cup (40g) shelled whole almonds, 20 shelled pistachio nuts, 1 green apple cored, 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 80g small baby English Spinach leaves, 50g shaved parmesan cheese, 100g prosciutto roughly shredded
Steps: Put the nuts in a frying pan over medium heat and dry-dry until they are lightly golden. Remove from pan, place in a small bowl, sprinkle with salt and set aside. Cut the apple into about 10-12 thin slices and set aside. Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Place the spinach leaves and apple into a large bowl. Splash with the balsamic vinegar dressing and toss. Add the shaved parmesan cheese, prosciutto and nuts and toss again. Serve immediately
Serves 2-3
