My favorite way of eating in the summer is to serve a salad or two, along with some fresh mozzarella or ricotta, and maybe some sliced prosciutto. Even better (and easier) is to combine the salad with the cheese or cured meat on one platter. The typical way down this road leads to a Caprese (tomatoes and mozzarella) or else Prosciutto and Melon. But over the years I’ve managed to finagle all sorts of vegetables into mixtures that combine cheese and/or pork into salads that are hearty enough to satisfy everyone but still light enough to be called a salad.
This past weekend, faced with an over abundance of green beans in our garden I decided to combine them with some of the way-too-much mozzarella I had bought. Also? When I was at the cheese store I some how came home with a 1/4 pound of capocollo. So I needed to use that as well.
This is an easy salad to pull together and open to infinite variations. One thing to keep in mind is that you want to cook your green beans thoroughly. They should be soft and tender to the bite, not firm. Dress them with olive oil and vinegar. And then top them with cheese and/or pork. I’ve used everything from fresh goat cheese to crumbled aged blue cheese. And while I used crispy fried pieces of capocollo this time, I’ve also used pancetta, prosciutto and even bresaola when I’ve got non-pork eater. Skip the meat part entirely for a vegetarian version.
One more important tip: keep it pretty. Don’t just dump the entire salad into a big bowl and toss. Layering your salad as you go on a pretty platter makes it more appetizing. Also? All the good bits (cheese and meat) don’t sink to the bottom!
Ingredients
- 1/2 kilo / 1 pound of green beans, trimmed
- 1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons of red or white wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 oz of fresh mozzarella
- 6 slices of capocolla
- 1/4 cup or so of fresh basil leaves
- 2 tabelspoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
Place the chopped onion in a small bowl and add the vinegar and salt. Stir and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Steam the string beans until very tender, drain and let come to room temperature.
Heat a medium sized frying pan to medium high heat. Add the slices of capocolla in one layer, with no oil, and let cook. They will start to sizzle and should get dark and start to shrink a bit. Turn them over as they start to crisp up. When they start to turn brownish at the edges, remove them from the pan to a paper towel-covered plate to drain. It should take about 8 minutes tops. As they cool they should get crisp.
To assemble the salad:
Place the cooked beans in a medium sized bowl and toss with the marinated onion and the vinegar, along with the olive oil. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Mound the beans on a medium sized serving platter. Using your hands, rip the mozzarella into bit sized pieces and scatter on top. Using your hands again, break up the capocollo into bits and scatter over top.
Scatter herbs over the whole thing and drizzle with a bit more of your best extra virgin olive oil. Serve.
I’m really enjoying your new book! Am going to Venice and Burano in a couple of weeks and plan to try your recommendations for restaurants there. Thanks!
Thank you! Have a great trip!