CRUNCHY VEGETABLES WITH FETA & PISTACHIOS

This fragrant vinaigrette is the back bone of our house salad at Arabica Kings Cross and will breathe life into any combination of green leaves. The core ingredients of the salad are Cretan barley rusks, feta cheese and roasted ground pistachios and the veggies can change with the seasons.

SERVES:

4

PREPARED IN:

Less than 15 minutes

DIFFICULTY:

Super easy

INGREDIENTS

For the dressing:

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Runny honey

45ml White wine vinegar

1 tbsp. Orange blossom water

120ml Extra virgin olive oil

For the Salad

2 Gem lettuces, quartered

1 Courgette, cut into thin rounds

3 Spring onions, cut into small discs

2 Baby cucumbers

100g French beans, left whole

1/2 Fennel, finely shaved

100g Sugar snap peas

Handful fresh mint leaves

Handful fresh parsley leaves

1 Cretan barley rusk

75g Pistachios, lightly roasted, roughly chopped

Season with flaked sea salt & pepper, to taste

METHOD

Put the Dijon mustard and honey into a jar, and mix together into a paste. Add the orange blossom water and vinegar, stir well to combine. Pour in the olive oil, screw the lid on tightly, and shake until you have an emulsion. The dressing can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.

To prepare the salad, take a large mixing bowl, add the raw vegetables and picked herbs. Crumble the rusk into bite size pieces, add half of the feta, douse with the orange blossom vinaigrette, season to taste and gently toss.

Transfer to a serving plate, crumble the remaining feta and sprinkle generously with pistachios.

Recipe by James Walters, self-taught chef and founder of Arabica.