Category: salad

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Mozzarella, tomato and pistachio salad

This was a quick and simple salad I made. I took some Dolce Romana lettuce leaves and some sliced heritage tomatoes. I then added some ripped mozzarella before topping with pistachio nuts. I dressed the salad with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

I do like the Dolce Romana lettuce from Marks and Spencers, it has a great flavour and texture. It has echoes of romaine lettuce, but has more crunch and is sweeter. I quite like nuts in my salads, these were ready shelled pistachio nuts.

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Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Made myself a simple tomato and mozzarella salad. Took some sliced tomatoes and interleaved them with slices of a mozzarella ball. Alongside I added some shredded lettuce and more slices of tomato. I dressed the salad with salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and shredded basil leaves.

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Another burrata and tomato salad

I really like this simple salad of fresh Italian burrata cheese with tomatoes. 

burrata and tomato salad

For this salad I took a selection of tomatoes I had in the fridge. This was some small cherry tomatoes, a few Isle of Wight heirloom tomatoes I had left over from a punnet I had bought at M&S, and a couple of Isle of Wight tiger tomatoes that I bought from Dart’s Farm.

These I sliced, some into halves, others into slices. I surround the drained burrata cheese. The salad is then dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and white wine vinegar.

After photographing the salad, I added some torn basil leaves.

Burrata is an exquisite Italian fresh cheese with a unique texture. It starts with a pouch of fresh mozzarella, which is then filled with a rich, creamy mixture of stracciatella—shredded mozzarella curds and cream. The name “burrata” comes from the Italian word for “buttered,” which perfectly describes its luxurious consistency. When sliced open, the firm outer shell gives way to a soft, spilling interior. This creates a delightful contrast between the solid exterior and the milky, buttery filling.

Delicious 

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Burrata and tomato salad

Burrata and tomato salad

I really like this simple salad of fresh Italian burrata cheese with tomatoes. 

I take a selection of tomatoes, I really like the Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes that you can get in some supermarkets. These I slice thinly. I surround the drained burrata cheese. The salad is then dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and white wine vinegar.

Sometimes I use a balsamic glaze instead of the white wine vinegar. Another option is the addition of torn fresh basil leaves to the salad. I always tear up my basil leaves ever since seeing Jamie Oliver on a TV advertisement saying they should be torn and not cut. Still don’t know if that’s right, or that was just a Jamie Oliver thing… I am sure I have seen Gordon Ramsey chop up basil with a knife.

Burrata is an exquisite Italian fresh cheese with a unique texture. It starts with a pouch of fresh mozzarella, which is then filled with a rich, creamy mixture of stracciatella—shredded mozzarella curds and cream. The name “burrata” comes from the Italian word for “buttered,” which perfectly describes its luxurious consistency. When sliced open, the firm outer shell gives way to a soft, spilling interior. This creates a delightful contrast between the solid exterior and the milky, buttery filling.

Delicious.

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Mexican Style Salad Bowl

Mexican Style Salad Bowl

This salad bowl was from Aldi and cost £1.39. As well as mixed leaves there was shredded carrot and beetroot. The salad comes with a (quite a) spicy sachet of mayonnaise. I mixed mine with some “normal” mayonnaise. I then dressed the salad with the accompanying mini tortilla chips. It was a quick and tasty salad.

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Grilled Pork Cutlet

Milton Hill House

I was in Oxfordshire for work, attending a conference in Oxford. I booked to stay in the Milton Hill House hotel close to Abingdon. I would then catch the Park & Ride into the heart of Oxford for the event.

I had dinner in the hotel, and for my main course I went with the grilled pork cutlet. This was served with salad and chips.

Grilled Pork Cutlet

The plate was served, so I dug in. The pork cutlet was cooked well, it was nice and tender. Wasn’t too sure about the butter it was dressed with, I am guessing it was a garlic and herb butter. For another £3 I could have had a sauce, I always think this is a bit of a scam. If your cutlet (or steak) needs a sauce, then serve a sauce with it. The rind on the cutlet was just chewy and not really edible. I am not sure if the cooking method would actually make it crispy. I would have removed it to be honest.

The dressed salad was nothing to write home about, but it was fresh and zingy. These were described as chips, and these were chips. Crispy on the outside and, for and fluffy on the inside.

In summary it was a nice plate of food. Though it did get me thinking about other pork chops I have had in the past.

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The place with no name

Popped out at lunchtime for a walk. I went down the Welsh Back before heading to St Nick’s to grab some lunch. I had seen the list for Finzel Reach and there wasn’t anything I wanted, well I would have had the bento box from She Sells Streetfood, but I have had that a lot recently. So, I looked over what was available in St Nick’s. I was tempted by Portuguese Taste, as I haven’t eaten there in a while. I was also hoping that Low & Slow would have some decent brisket. They didn’t. What was I going to do?

Opposite the infamous Matina stall in St Nick’s market is a relatively new stall in the main sells lamb shawarma in various ways. The signage says Kurdish Bread, but I know that was there for a while before the lamb shawarma came along. 

Looking for some lunch I decided I would try them out, I went with the lamb shawarma box, which comes with the grilled lamb shawarma and a range of salads.

There was a lot of nice salad in the box. The lamb was tender and tasty as well.

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Grilled spatchcock chicken

I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in London. One of the hotels I regularly stay at in London is the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. It’s a easy trip from West Ealing station to the heart of London and is always significantly cheaper than central London hotels. 

Looking over the menu and deciding to go with something different I chose the grilled spatchcock chicken with endive & herb salad, hazelnuts & chilli oil. I liked the sound of the salad and I did think grilled chicken would be nice, especially as I assumed it would be cooked on the chargrill.

Grilled spatchcock chicken

I was intrigued by the plate of food which arrived on my table. I wasn’t quite sure at first what I had been served, but eventually worked out that this was a spatchcocked poussin sized chicken. I cooked grilled chicken quite a lot and I felt that this grilled chicken could have been cooked with more care. I will say though the endive & herb salad, hazelnuts & chilli oil was very nice. I do like hazelnuts in salad and they added flavour and text sure to this salad. Though described as endive & herb salad, I couldn’t see any herbs in my salad. It was a great salad, the chicken though was something of a disappointment.

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Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes

Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes

One of my favourite salads is a simple dressed tomato and mozzarella salad with basil.

Though you could use cheaper tomatoes and mozzarella, sometimes it’s nice to up the ante and do something a little more special.

I have had Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes before, I got them from the M&S at Cribbs Causeway (my local M&S Food Hall didn’t stock them). It was a nice surprise to see my local Waitrose selling a box of Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes. I was also impressed that the box was only £5, which I thought was good value.

In comparison, the M&S Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes are £2.75 per pack, and the Waitrose box contains about the equivalent of four or five M&S packs.

I’ve bought the box twice now and each time I have had a different range of tomatoes in each box. There are large tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange varieties as well.

For my simple dressed tomato and mozzarella salad with basil, I take a selection of tomatoes from the box and slice thinly and put in a bowl. I then add some torn up basil leaves. I always tear up my basil leaves ever since seeing Jamie Oliver on a TV advertisement saying they should be torn and not cut. Still don’t know if that’s right, or that was just a Jamie Oliver thing… I am sure I have seen Gordon Ramsey chop up basil with a knife.

I then dress the tomatoes and basil with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Having seen Marcus Wareing use white balsamic vinegar when he made a dressed tomato salad, I might get some of that and try it the next time I make this dish.

To finish off the salad I put a whole burrata mozzarella ball in the middle, which I added some olive oil and black pepper onto. 

tomato and burrata salad

Burrata is an exquisite Italian fresh cheese with a unique texture. It starts with a pouch of fresh mozzarella, which is then filled with a rich, creamy mixture of stracciatella—shredded mozzarella curds and cream. The name “burrata” comes from the Italian word for “buttered,” which perfectly describes its luxurious consistency. When sliced open, the firm outer shell gives way to a soft, spilling interior. This creates a delightful contrast between the solid exterior and the milky, buttery filling.

Delicious.

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Railway Mixed Grill

To celebrate a birthday we headed over to Sandford for a meal at The Railway Inn. Sandford is on the A368 between Weston and Churchill. The Railway Inn  is owned by the Thatchers cider company who are also based in the village. I remember passing this many times before it was taken over by Thatchers and refurbished. I have been there before for drinks, but this was the first time I had been there for a meal.

The main part of the pub is the bar area. A large mainly wooden extension was added to provide a restaurant area. We had booked, but the place wasn’t busy, and we were given a great table.

I had looked over the menu online, but it was a sample menu. They say on the menu:

Our dishes change with the seasons and the fresh local produce that goes into each and every one of them.

So I was prepared for a different menu, however I had liked the sound of some of the specials.

The menu we had at the table was different to the one online (as expected). I did think about having one of the specials, however in the end I decided I would have the Railway Mixed Grill. The menu didn’t describe what would be in the grill, so did wonder what I would get.

The food was cooked fresh to order and my plate arrived.

On my mixed grill I had a steak, lamb chop, chicken, gammon, and sausages. Alongside was a grilled field mushroom, a herby tomato. I had chosen a heritage tomato salad as my side.

Now I wasn’t to keen on the presentation, but then again it was a mixed grill. The steak was excellent, nicely cooked, good char on the outside and pink in the middle. The lamb chop was small, but nice. The gammon was rather salty, probably a little too salty for me. The chicken was slightly overcooked.

I liked the heritage tomato salad, which was fresh and tasty.

Alongside I had a flight of cider, three small glasses of different ciders.

The Railway Inn, as you might expect had an excellent range of draft ciders. I like the idea of a flight, enabling a range of ciders to be tasted.

Upon reflection and seeing the plate of food that a neighbouring table received, I think I should have gone with one of the specials. The pork special looked really good. I do plan to visit the Railway Inn again in the future.