I've had all three recipes for this week's Cooking From The Farmers' Market planned out for a week. As I said in my post yesterday, picking just a few of them was a tall task. I'd even gone so far as to photograph and beginning writing out the post for today's recipe choice...and then I went and confused myself. Flipping through the cookbook yesterday, I saw this and realized I had everything to make it for lunch - a bit of prosciutto left from one recipe, most of a fennel bulb from something I'm posting next week. It ended up being a great way to use up ingredients I had around the house...except for flat leaf parsley, which was missing. This "salad" is so delicious that I changed up my plans and am posting about it instead. So, please excuse that this is a bit of a "hail mary" blog post - do include the parsley when you make this because I'm sure it can only enhance an already amazing dish.
To me, this recipe is as much an "antipasto" as it is a salad. The combination of textures in this is so wonderful, my taste buds totally ignored the fact that it included celery, which I am finally learning to enjoy. Adding the mint and the lemon just accentuates the freshness here - I threw on some fennel fronds for another layer of texture and color and substituted the spring onions for chives. I can't wait to make this on a big platter (or one of those dark slate serving boards - that would be stunning!) for a summertime party with some crusty bread to make this a light, no-cook meal.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the final of three recipes I'm sharing this week from Williams-Sonoma's Cooking From The Farmers' Market, which you can buy here.
Celery, Prosciutto, and Parsley Salad - makes 6 servings
- 6 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced, preferably on a mandoline
- 4 green spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (I substituted 2-3 tablespoons fresh snipped chives)
- 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup small fresh mint leaves
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- 6 thin slices prosciutto
- Shaved hard sheep's milk cheese such as Pecorino-Romano