Raw and Cooked Salad

The ‘insalate cruda/cotta’ can vary to reflect the season. Here I use autumn and winter vegetables like squash and beetroot, but in the summer months you could cook green beans, zucchini (courgette) and others. With the addition of some tuna, sliced grilled chicken or cheese, this salad turns into a great main course.

Serves 6 or more

450g sweet onions (such as Supa-sweet, Vidalia or Walla Walla), cut into 2cm slices

120ml extra virgin olive oil, or as needed

225g peeled butternut or acorn squash, cut into 2.5cm cubes

300g beetroot

1–2 large, fresh ripe tomatoes (about 225g)

80g pitted black olives

3 tablespoons small capers, drained

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1–2 soft-leaf lettuces (about 350g), separated into leaves

coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 170°C (conventional oven 190°C/Gas Mark 5). For the ‘verdura cotta’ (cooked vegetables), brush the onion slices with some olive oil and sprinkle salt lightly on both sides. Lay the onions in one layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, turning once, until slightly softened and nicely caramelised on the flat sides and edges. Leave to cool, then separate the slices into thick onion rings.

Season the squash with a little salt and olive oil, then lay out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 25 minutes until tender. Cool.

Cook the beetroot, skin on, in boiling water until tender (time depends on the size of the roots). Drain and cool, then peel and cut into slices.

For the ‘verdura cruda’ (raw vegetables), core the tomatoes, then slice them into wedges that are roughly the same size as the cooked vegetables.

Put everything in a large salad bowl except the lettuce: onions, squash, beetroot, tomatoes, olives and capers. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and drizzle over the rest of the olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Tumble the vegetables to coat them with dressing. Scatter the lettuce on top, tearing the larger leaves in two, then toss the greens with the vegetables gently for about a minute, to distribute the dressing evenly. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and toss again.

Serve immediately – always giving each plate some of the heavier goodies that drop to the bottom of the bowl and hide under the lettuce.

Raw and Cooked Salad