Salad of Iberian ham with grilled peaches, hazelnuts & soft goats cheese dressing
Serves 4
- 12 slices of good quality Iberian ham
- 150g mixed salad leaves (rocket, lambs lettuce, watercress, etc)
- 3 fresh peaches, stoned & cut into large wedges
- 30g hazelnuts, skinned
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
- Soft
- Goats Cheese
- Dressing
- 100g soft goats cheese
- 1tsp sherry vinegar
- 4 tbsp cream
- 5tbsp olive oil
- 1tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 For the salad dressing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a light puree.
2 Place the hazelnuts on a roasting tray and cook in a hot oven for 2 minutes until golden and lightly toasted, being careful not to burn them – they’ll toast very quickly. Glaze the peaches with a little olive oil. Heat a heavy bottomed griddle pan and place the peaches on the grill for 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks appear. The peaches should be warm but still firm. Remove from grill; set aside.
3 Arrange the Iberian ham slices over 4 plates. Top with grilled peaches and salad leaves. Scatter with toasted hazelnuts and a little crumbled goats cheese. Serve with soft goats cheese dressing.
Peach & saffron chutney
- 1kl ripe peaches
- 200g tomatoes (de-seeded and chopped)
- 60g onion (finely chopped)
- 60g sultanas
- 200g light brown sugar
- 250ml sherry vinegar
- 1tbsp Salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- A good pinch of saffron
1 Place all the ingredients, except the peaches, in a heavy-bottomed pan and cook over a gentle flame, stirring frequently, for about 15-20 minutes.
2 Blanch the peaches in boiling water for 15 seconds and then, refresh them in ice-cold water.
3 Peel them and cut them into large chunks.
4 Add the peaches to the saucepan and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the peaches start to break down and the chutney is thick and syrupy.
5 Pour into sterilised glass jars and leave to chill.
6 Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.