You all know my undying love for all things Jamie Oliver. I think at this point after four cookbooks and my Jamie-selfie, my husband might be getting a bit jealous. This book has soooo many favorites (marked, of course, with my Dad's "patented" rating system), but since things have been hectic and the oven kicks out too much heat to roast my favorite chicken recipe, I am going super simple this week.
This salad was marked "Excellent" in 2005 and since it's easy like Sunday morning, I'm adding chocolate pots (aka pot de creme) - my first blog dessert!
Take advantage of fresh summer peaches - hit the farmer's market!
Ingredients:
Chocolate Pots:
285ml single cream [aka whipping cream, not heavy cream] - this was about 1 1/4 c.
7oz high quality chocolate (70% cocoa solids) [I used 6oz Guittard with a Dove Promise to make it 7oz]
2 large egg yolks
3 TB brandy, the best you can get [Thank you to our wonderful friend Ismar for ours!!]
3/4 oz butter [About a TB]
Salad:
Ball of buffalo mozzarella
1 peach per person
2-3 slices prosciutto per person
Mixed salad leaves [cook's choice]
Fresh mint
Dried chili, crumbled, if desired
Dressing:
2 TB lemon juice
5 TB olive oil
salt and pepper
Start with dessert! In a thick bottomed pan, heat the cream until nearly boiling. Remove, set aside for 1 minute before breaking your chocolate bars up in the cream. Stir until melted and smooth. Once melted, beat in your egg yolks and brandy, stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly before stirring in the butter until the mixture is smooth. [I also added a teeny tiny pinch of salt and ~2 tsp fine sugar since my chocolate was a bit bitter for my taste] Pour into individual serving pots and refrigerate.
PS: Sometimes if you add the butter when the chocolate isn't cool enough, it will look like the mixture has split. To fix, allow the mixture to cool a little longer before whisking in a little cold milk until you have a smooth consistency again.
For the salad, peel the peaches and quarter. Rip the mozzarella into small pieces and add to the plate with the peaches. Lightly season [you can sprinkle dried chile over the mozzarella, if you'd like]. Lay a couple of slices of prosciutto over the top.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients and use a little to dress your salad leaves and torn-up mint. Add to plate.
This salad shouldn't make sense, but every part is a perfect puzzle piece. I don't like mint, but if you left it out, it wouldn't be the same. Make sure you add some heat - I just sprinkled on the red chili flakes you put on pizza and lots of black pepper. I'm upping this to an Excellent+.
The chocolate pots are thick and super chocolatey. The brandy is definitely a strong flavor and I might ramp it down a bit next time. I'd give them a Great rating!
This is the perfect summer meal - I'm going to make it again next week after hitting another farmer's market!
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