Returning with a hefty crate load of freshly picked vegetables from my weekly foraging in the greenhouses, today I am in complete and utter bliss. The highly anticipated runner beans are perfectly formed, slim and crunchy…the spinach and lettuces, fat and round, fanning huge, curling, juicy leaves and root vegetables that are simply so sweet and full of loud earthy flavours. My first harvest of baby heirloom tomatoes are so pretty – I’m actually fascinated by how perfect they are…ohh…this is a perfect mid week cure for the food fanatic.
Nothing makes me happier than a couple of hours in the outdoors. Whether it’s blackberry picking in the Cotswolds, or collecting mussels off the rocky coastlines in Hermanus , I really should have been born a farmer or a fisherwoman… the love of the land, the scent of freshly fallen rain on the soil and a dreamy view of rolling green hills with a pretty Tuscan style farmhouse set right in the middle of it all… this is still part of the big dream…
So, anyhow, back to today and real life. I’m looking at this gorgeous colourful harvest and I can’t wait to get cooking. However, the more I thought about it – the vegetables were just so perfect in their natural state, the less I wanted to change that. So, today’s recipe is truly very simple with a flavourful punchy dressing that is going to enhance all the vegetables. Quite often, we needlessly complicate cooking, when frankly, some things should just be left alone as the Great Maker had intended. Beautiful and Bright – this is a salad that is going to knock your socks off. Serve with a freshly baked Ciabbatta – tearing off pieces of bread, scooping up all the wonderful bits and pieces…simplicity at it’s best..
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