Walnut Salad, or Insalata alle Noci: Liguria is famed for its walnut trees, which go into a number of sauces, including one that's quite nice over ravioli. They also go into salads, and here are a couple of recipes, one combining walnuts, greens, and fish, and the other greens, walnuts and fruit. Very different but both good.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** The Fish-and-Greens Salad **
- The white, tender heard of a bunch of celery
- A head of chicory
- The nutmeats from 15 walnuts
- 2 eggs, hard-boiled
- 2 salted anchovies, rinsed, boned, and split (if you use anchovies packed in oil, you'll want four filets)
- 2 ounces (50 g) ventresca di tonno (tuna cut from the underside of the fish -- if you cannot
- find this use what's available, and go for canned, because if you purchase it raw you will have to cook it)
- Olive oil
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- ** The Fuit Salad **
- 6 lettuce hearts, coarsely shredded
- 3 ripe, juicy pears, peeled and sliced
- The nutmeats from 10 walnuts, crushed
- The nutmeats from 10 walnuts, ground
- Extravirgin olive oil (Ligurian oil from Taggiasca olives would be best)
- The juice of a lemon
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Fish-and-Greens Salad:Slice the celery and julienne the chicory, then combine them in your salad bowl. Cut the eggs into wedges, break up the filets into pieces, shred the tuna, and grind the nuts. Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together in a small bowl, then stir all the ingredients into the salad bowl.
Fuit Salad: Combine everything, season with salt and pepper, olive oil, and the lemon juice, and serve at once, before the pears discolor.
