Agretti Nicoise

Agretti Nicoise

A celebration salad

As the summer gathers pace, there is plenty of produce to celebrate, not least the Italian native, Agretti. A Nicoise is summer on a plate. The key to tying it all together lies in a sharp fragrant vinaigrette, the rest of the ingredients are at the whim of your culinary creativity.

The beauty of a salad platter like a Nicoise is the versatility, not just in its ingredients but also with the accompaniments. Enjoy with a BBQ, a great cheese, fresh fish or just a slice of bread.

Serves as many as you want to make it for
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
100 g white wine vinegar
200 g good quality oil
A teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Agretti
New season potatoes
Soft boiled eggs
Cucumber
Mint
Broad beans
Pickled radish

1. The potatoes will take the longest to cook and benefit from some time soaking up the vinaigrette. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, quarter or halve the potatoes and simmer until tender.

2. Soft boil the eggs for around 8 minutes depending on the size of egg, then stop the cooking in plenty of running cold water which will prevent the sulphur ring from forming around the yolk.

3. While the potatoes and the eggs are cooking, use the water from one to blanch the agretti. Strip the leaves from the stems and cook for 30 seconds in boiling water. Remove and cool in cold running water as quickly as possible before draining.

4. Check the potatoes, and if they are cooked, drain and allow to steam dry.

5. To make the vinaigrette, whisk the oil and vinegar together with the mustard and plenty of seasoning. Add a drizzle of honey for a sweeter version or add some chopped herbs for added flavour.

6. Toss the agretti and the potatoes in a drizzle of vinaigrette, but keep them separate and leave to marinade for a few minutes while the rest of the salad is prepared.

7. Cut the cucumber in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and tear into chunks. Season with a sprinkle of sugar, chopped mint and the vinaigrette.

8. Blackened broad beans cooked in their pods is my favourite way of cooking them. Simple place directly on hot BBQ coals or char under a very hot grill for just a couple of minutes.

9. Once all the ingredients are coated in the dressing, arrange on a large plate to share.


Chef Notes:
1. Pickled radish are an optional addition, but the contrast is very welcome. For these, gently heat 300 g of vinegar and dissolve 100 g of sugar and 5 g of salt in it with a few cardamom pods and a sprinkle of coriander