It’s Time for Peaches!
When I was grocery shopping last week, I was really excited to see peaches from South Carolina for the first time this summer. In fact, I was so excited that I may have bought an “aggressive” amount of them (as my kids would say!) I’m very picky about peaches – I only buy them in season, and only ones from SC, GA, and NJ (Yes, Jersey peaches!) Sorry CT, but your peaches don’t make the cut!
After I brought all of those peaches home, I knew exactly what I was going to make. My friend refers to this as a “sexy salad”, and I was sure my dinner guests would love it (they did!) It is sexy indeed – the presentation is beautiful (it’s served on a platter instead of in a bowl) and it’s delicious! What makes this salad so great is its simplicity – it’s very easy to make and it only has a few ingredients (the dressing is just lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, and ground pepper). So you can really taste the different flavors: salty prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, sweet juicy peaches, zesty lemon juice, and spicy mint leaves with salad greens. Give it a try and enjoy those perfectly ripe peaches – they won’t be around forever!
Jamie Oliver’s mixed leaf salad with mozzarella, mint, peach & prosciutto
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 cups mixed baby greens + fresh mint leaves
- 1 ⁄4 lb prosciutto, thinly sliced
- 3 peaches, pit removed and cut into wedges (peeled or unpeeled optional)
- 2 Buffalo mozzarella cheese balls torn into bit size pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
- salt
- pepper
Method
- If I make this for my lunch I’ll use one nice, ripe peach, half a ball of mozzarella and a couple of slices of prosciutto.
- Pinch the skin of the peaches and peel from the bottom to the top, then quarter.
- Rip the mozzarella into small pieces and place on a plate with the peaches. Lightly season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Lay a couple of slices of prosciutto over the top.
- Tear up the mint leaves, toss with the mixed salad leaves and dress with a little of the extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice dressing.
- Throw the leaves on top. Simple!
