A WARM salad is very good to eat; versatile in its content, according to what appeals to you, and convenient in that, even although the salad is warm, much of it can be prepared in advance. My favourite contains chicken livers, and there are several versions of this, one of which I give you today.
In any warm salad, a contrast of texture is vital. For example, crisp croutons can provide necessary carbohydrates as well as a good crunch against the softness of salad leaves or young spinach with avocado.
Or sunflower and toasted sesame seeds can be the crunch; or crispy bacon pieces, which are so good with chicken livers as well as with avocado and spinach – and several other warm salad combinations besides, including fish-based salads.
Cheese can be melted on to croutons and then walnuts or almonds used in the salad to give double crunchiness.
A warm salad is very good for you, at the same time as being a treat to eat – as should be all our meals.
Serves 6
900g chicken livers, picked over and any stringy bits removed, and the livers cut to more or less the same size
50g butter, melted
2 tblspn olive oil
1 fat clove of garlic, skinned and sliced thinly – leave this out if you don’t like garlic
6 slices of baked bread (as opposed to steamed sliced), crusts cut off
75g sesame seeds mixed well with 1 tspn salt
175g salad leaves of your choice
6 rashers of smoked or unsmoked streaky bacon, grilled until crisp then broken into small pieces
1 tblspn snipped chives
1 tblspn chopped parsley
Start by making the croutons. Brush each crust-less slice of bread on each side with melted butter.
Mix together the sesame seeds and salt on a flat plate. Press each slice of buttered bread into the salted seeds on both sides. Then slice each piece of bread into neat cubes about a thumbnail in size.
Put them on to a baking sheet in a hot oven – 200C/390F/Gas Mark 6 – for 7-10 minutes, then check them. The croutons should be pale brown and toasted in appearance. Take them out of the oven and cool.
When cold, store in an airtight container. Heat them gently on a baking tray in a warm, but not hot, oven before serving.
Use up the remainder of the butter by scraping it into a saute pan and add the olive oil. When very hot, stir-fry the chicken livers briefly until they are sealed on the outside but still pink inside.
To serve, arrange even amounts of salad leaves on each plate. Spoon the chicken livers on to the salad leaves – which will wilt slightly under the heat – and scatter over the croutons, crisp bacon, chives and parsley.
Serves 6
3 fresh beetroot
6 slices of baked bread, crusts removed
6 slices of goat’s cheese
75g assorted salad leaves
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
3 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
½ tspn salt and about 20 grinds of black pepper
1 tblspn mixed finely chopped chives and parsley
Boil the beetroot until tender. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and slice the beetroot as thinly as possible.
Mix all the dressing ingredients thoroughly and spoon over the warm sliced beetroot.
Toast each slice of bread on one side, put the goat’s cheese on the un-toasted side and grill until the cheese just melts.
To assemble the salad, divide the salad leaves evenly between six plates, and arrange the dressed sliced beetroot between each plate. Put the grilled goat’s cheese on top and serve.
(Note: 450g = 1lb; 600ml = 1pt)