There was a brief period of travel respite between lockdowns, and off we rushed to Sardinia for a much-needed break and change of scene.
We found our old-fashioned, traditional supermarket had been replaced. Our old supermarket was full character, of blue-scarved assistants smiling encouragingly at my out-or-practice Italian and making helpful suggestions: ‘the San Daniele is on special offer this week…’ .
The new supermarket was shiny. It was better laid out. It had glitzy branding.
It didn’t have the same feel at all.
But it did have white Gorgonzola, which was a revelation. White Gorgonzola is not Gorgonzola PDO, which has blue veining. White Gorgonzola is simply a white, creamy cheese made in Gorgonzola, a town not far from Milan. It’s softer, both in taste and texture, than its blue PDO-honoured namesake, a sort of mix between Gorgonzola PDO and burrata. And it’s perfect in this salad. If you can’t find white Gorgonzola, try a mix of blue Gorgonzola PDO and burrata…
Try drinking this with a semi-dry cider.
A salad of soft white Gorgonzola, roasted hazelnuts and zucchini
Serves – 2
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- Couple of pinches of salt
- Pinch of Urfa pepper flakes or some freshly ground pepper
- 60 ml/¼ cup sherry vinegar
- 240 ml/1 cup olive oil, plus a little more for frying the hazelnuts
- 2 zucchini (courgettes) weighing approximately 200g/7oz each
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (include the stems) – or snip a few sprigs directly into the dressing
- 70g/½ cup Gorgonzola dolce… or Gorgonzola cut with mascarpone….or I used white Gorgonzola, which is wonderful
- 20g/2-3 tbsps hazelnuts
- Some fresh chives
- 100g/4 oz crisp lettuce (iceberg), shredded
- 2 tbsps capers (not the type in brine…. If you buy them salted make sure they are very well rinsed)
- Fresh focaccia
Instructions
- Roughly chop the hazelnuts and fry them in a large frying pan in a little olive oil together with a pinch of salt, don’t let them burn, but get them good and toasted. Take out and set aside.
- Cut off both the stem, and the end of the courgettes, then cut them in half lengthwise, and then slice them into half moon shapes.
- Warm the bread.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk (using an electric whisk) the mustard, honey, a second pinch of salt, the pepper flakes, and the vinegar. Snip in the parsley and the chives.
- Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil, mixing it all the time.
- Add the zucchini, the capers and the lettuce. Stir well to coat with the dressing. Turn out onto a pretty plate.
- Dot the Gorgonzola over the zucchini. Sprinkle over the roasted hazelnuts.
- Serve with the warm focaccia.
Music to chop to
Procol Harem sing A Whiter Shade Of Pale
