SALADES

Damien Pignolet
Lantern (a Penguin Books Australia imprint)

I am a fan of salads, especially as a main course, and in this recently acquired beautiful  addition to my kitchen library acclaimed chef Damien Pignolet shows us the endless possibilities of the salad. Here are entrée salads to stimulate the appetite, side salads to refresh the palate, and warm salads that serve as a meal in their own right.

In his book you can learn how to perfect classic salads, such as niçoise, and how to marry a range of tastes and textures to create a chicken salad with asparagus, peaches and a pistachio nut vinaigrette, and a sweet salad of strawberry, orange and red wine.

Damien's first book, French, captured the essence of classic French cooking in Australia. With its rich photography and detailed notes on produce, composition and presentation, Salades is set to educate, inspire and delight the dedicated home cook. It has certainly made that impact on me.

About the author:
Damien Pignolet is one of Australia's finest chefs and restaurateurs. As chef and co-owner of Sydney restaurants such as Claude's from 1981-1993 and Bistro Moncur from 1993 onwards, his eye for detail and his consummate French style have earned him many accolades. In 2004 he became executive chef and co-proprietor of the Bellevue Hotel & Dining Room.

The publishers have kindly allowed me to reproduce below the recipe for the first salad I made from the book. By my modest and untrained standards this was quite a complex dish which I should have started earlier than I did, as I am not a multi-tasker in the kitchen, but the end result was most rewarding and drew forth warm praise! Tonight I am making Carrot, Potato & Chicken Salad but that will be a story for another day.

Roast Pumpkin, Mushroom & Spinah Salad with Spicy Toasted Almonds

The sweetness of the pumpkin is contrasted by the acidity of the spinach and bitterness of the radicchio.
Crisp fried sage leaves add an earthy touch and the spicy almonds provide a spark for the palate, while the mushrooms absorb all the flavours. The almonds can take up to two hours to roast and may be done well in advance of the other steps. Serve with ham off the bone, grilled lamb cutlets, or grilled or barbecued salmon or Hiramasa Ichiban kingfish. Also good with a roast chicken served at room temperature (this was my choice).

30g soft brown sugar
sea salt
900g  pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm dice
olive oil spray
1½ cups finely shredded radicchio
200g spinach leaves, washed and spin-dried, torn into small pieces
225g button mushrooms, stems removed, caps cut into quarters

Fried sage leaves
100ml vegetable oil or peanut oil
½ cup sage leaves

Spicy toasted almonds
¼  teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon fine salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ eggwhite, or a little more
120g blanched almonds, splintered or coarsely chopped

Dressing
60ml extra virgin olive oil
30ml almond oil or avocado oil
20ml verjuiceQ
2 teaspoons lime juice, or to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 6

1 Preheat the oven to 110°C. To make the roasted almonds, sift the cayenne, salt and cumin into a mixing bowl, then whisk in just enough eggwhite to make a moist paste. Toss the almonds in the paste to barely coat them:
if they look too wet spoon off the excess paste. Spread the almond mixture over a large baking sheet so that the nuts are separated. Bake for up to 2 hours, shaking the tray from time to time. Transfer to a tray lined with baking paper and leave to cool, then seal in an airtight container.

2 Sift the sugar and salt through a coarse sieve, then toss with the pumpkin. Spray lightly with olive oil, then toss and spray again for an even coating. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the pumpkin with a spatula and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until lightly caramelised. The pumpkin should still be a bit undercooked.

3 Place the pumpkin, radicchio, spinach and mushrooms in a large bowl and gently toss together.

4 For the fried sage leaves, heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 160°C and fry the sage leaves for 20 seconds or so until crisp. Drain immediately on paper towel.

5 To make the dressing, whisk the oils, verjuice and lime juice with a small pinch of salt and some pepper, then taste and correct the seasoning; it should taste quite acidic so add more lime juice if necessary.

6 Moisten the vegetables with about half the dressing and toss gently, then add more dressing and toss again.
Transfer to a platter or individual plates and scatter with the toasted almonds and sage leaves, then serve.

Footnote:
As one has come to expect with titles published under the Lantern imprint Salades is a truly beautiful object, gorgeously designed, stunning photography, delicious endpapers, a gem no less. My warm congratulations to the publisher, designer and their talented team over there in Surry Hills, Sydney.