Valerian and peach salad with casera cheese, garum sunflower seeds and fig oil
Lamb's lettuce and peach salad with casera cheese is perfect for a fresh and light main course that pairs cheese with fruit. The dish is enhanced with garum-infused sunflower seeds and fig oil.
Ingredients · Servings 4 people
- 250 g valerian
- 200 g casera cheese
- 100 g untreated fig leaves
- 4 not too ripe nectarines
- pumpkin seeds
- length
- mint
- cane sugar
- extra virgin olive oil
- seed oil
- butter
- balsamic vinegar of Modena
- apple cider vinegar
- sale
Method · 30 minuti più 12 ore di riposo
- Place 4 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds on a baking tray lined with baking paper, season them with 2 tablespoons of garum and toast them in a fan oven for 6 minutes at 200°C, stirring every 2 minutes.
- Peel the peaches with a vegetable peeler and set aside the peels; cut the fruit into six wedges, removing the pit.
- Melt a generous knob of butter in a pan over high heat, add the peach peels and three mint leaves, stir, and cook for a minute, then add a teaspoon of brown sugar and the peach segments. Continue cooking, browning the segments on both sides until the butter turns a light brown color. Be careful not to let the peaches fall apart, so cook them over very high heat for about 2 minutes in total.
- Let it cool and add a little salt.
- Blend the fig leaves with 200 g of seed oil; heat the mixture to 60°C and let it steep for 12 hours. Once ready, this oil will keep in the freezer for up to a year.
- Prepare a dressing by whisking together 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of fig leaf oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Wash and dry the lamb's lettuce, then divide it among the plates; top with the peaches and very thinly sliced casera cheese. Garnish with the garum-infused sunflower seeds, a few mint leaves, and the dressing.
To prepare them, follow the advice of Ciccio Sultano, chef of the Duomo restaurant in Ragusa Ibla, which has two Michelin stars, and of other restaurants in Rome (W hotel), at Palermo airport (I Banchi di Ragusa Ibla) and in Vienna (PastaMara), just to name a few.
The chef suggests: "Use ripe but still firm peaches and don't waste the peels: they give the recipe an interesting tannic note that balances the sweetness of the peaches and the buttery texture of their dressing."