Mary Contini recipe: Sardinian salad of camone tomatoes, rocket, fennel and bottarga
Take inspiration from the ingredients that underpin the healthy diet of Sardinia, writes Mary Contini as she gives us this recipe for Sardinian salad
Sardinians see themselves as “shepherds not fishermen”, traditionally, for safety, living up in the mountains rather than near the coast. An ancient method of preserving, the roe of mullet was salted and dried for up to six months to form an intensely rich, savoury flavour. Today, “caviar of the South”, bottarga is prized world-wide. Team this ingredient with Sardinian camone tomatoes, which look unripe, green and red, with a crisp tough skin and crunchy texture. They are sweet and flavoursome.
Ingredients
- 200g Sardinian camone tomatoes
- 3 handfuls wild rocket
- 1 bulb fennel
- extra virgin olive oil
- grated rind and juice of un-waxed lemon
- shavings of bottarga or ricotta salata
Serves: 4 Difficulty: Easy Time to cook: 10 mins
Method
Sardinian salad of camone tomatoes, rocket, fennel and bottarga
1 Cut the tomatoes into eighths. Trim the spindly stalks from the rocket and wash.
2 Remove any outer dry layers from the fennel, cut in half and remove the core. Slice very thinly, saving the leafy green fronds.
3 Toss all the ingredients together and dress with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice to taste.
4 Plate up, then dress with the chopped fennel fronds and grated lemon rind. Shave a generous amount of bottarga (or the salted sheep’s milk ricotta, ricotta salata) over the salad.
5 Season to taste and serve with Sardinian crisp bread pane carasau.
• Valvona & Crolla has a Sardinia wine tasting on 3 June at VinCaffe, 11 Multrees Walk, Edinburgh, 6pm (0131-557 0088) and on 30 June at Valvona & Crolla, 19 Elm Row, 6pm (0131-556 6066, www.valvonacrolla.co.uk). Tickets £12.