Soft, salty, crisp-crusted focaccia is always amazing and works really well with the herby and creamy pesto to make a great flavour combination. On it’s own, this would be great as a dip or part of a platter, as well as being a nice addition to a summer salad.
As always, follow the golden rule of salads and use a mix of colours, textures and tastes along with some acidity.
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Loading...Ingredients
- For the dip:
- 2 -3 tablespoons of ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons of pesto
- A few glugs of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- For the salad:
- Cucumber, radish, cos lettuce, cherry tomatoes, rocket, celery
- A few seeds for crunch, eg pumpkin or sunflower, around 2 tablespoons in total plus extra for decoration.
- A few slices of the best focaccia bread that you can find or make.
- For the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons best quality olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
To make the dip, mix the ingredients in a bowl, mix very well with a fork and leave to chill for 30 minutes or so. Stir again when ready to serve.
Use a potato peeler to peel the cucumber into thin strands.
Finely slice the radish.
Mix with the halved cherry tomatoes, the chopped celery, the sliced lettuce and a big handful of rocket.
Mix in some seeds, reserving some to decorate.
Whisk the dressing ingredients in a bowl until thickened. Toss the dressing with the salad using your hands.
Serve in a bowl with a few slices of focaccia and the dip on the side. Scatter with the remaining seeds and a lemon wedge.
Notes
You could try with any variant of pesto, this recipe uses the classic basil but it would work with sun-dried tomato pesto, chilli pesto or any other combination. Any salad veg will work, of course. Sliced red and yellow peppers, blanched green beans and avocado would all be excellent additions or subsitutes.
Rozelyn Watkins
June 25, 2020 at 7:54 pmThat’s tomorrow’s lunch sorted then – thank you, can’t wait to try it!