Brasserie Blanc

Pea, Broad Bean, Red Pepper & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad Recipe

For the dressing:
2 large tomatoes
1 shallot, finely diced
Red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
150ml extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Pinch of caster sugar
100ml tomato juice
For the smashed minted peas:
475g frozen peas
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Small bunch of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
To serve:
Large handful of frozen peas
Large handful of frozen broad beans
1 x bag pea shoots
1 x bag frisee salad
Handful fried, salted broad beans (habas fritas)
2 piquillo peppers from a jar, finely sliced
Pomegranate molasses
4 balls of buffalo mozzarella

Pea, Broad Bean, Red Pepper & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad Recipe

Serves 4

It’s the season for salads and this beauty created by Clive Fretwell and Raymond Blanc is one of our favourites. Try it a home for a true taste of sunshine.

Method
  1. To make the dressing, fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water – it needs to be big enough to hold the tomatoes. Score a cross on the top of each tomato with a sharp knife and plunge into the boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in the bowl of cold water. Once cool, skin the tomatoes, starting at the top where you scored the cross.
  2. Quarter the tomatoes and deseed them. Discard the seeds and juice. Stack the quarters on top of each other and dice finely, taking care not to crush the tomatoes as you chop them. Mix with the remaining dressing ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. To make the smashed peas, boil a full kettle. Place the peas in a large sieve or colander and pour the boiling water over them to defrost. Put roughly a third of the peas in a bowl and set aside. Place the remaining two thirds in a larger bowl with the olive oil, mint and salt and pepper. Crush the peas using a fork or potato masher so that they still retain some of their texture. Stir in the whole peas. Boil another kettle of water and defrost the peas and broad beans for the garnish in the same way.
  4. To serve the salad, slice each ball of mozzarella into 8 and delicately place equally around each plate. Place a spoonful of pea and mint puree in the middle of each plate and flatten with the back of your spoon. Top with a some of the whole peas and broad beans, scatter the frisee and pea shoots and spoon over the tomato dressing. Decorate with the crispy fried onions, fried broad beans and pepper slices. Finish with a drizzle of molasses.
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