This salad, made with orange, greens, crisp pita and sumac, is a twist on a Yotam Ottolenghi original. It lends itself particularly well to variation – try different combinations of cress and bitter greens including watercress, mizuna, baby mustard leaves, purslane, frisée and witlof.
Cress salad with ginger-date dressing
An Ottolenghi-ish salad brimming with goodness, and a sweet and tangy date dressing.
- Serves 6
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Ingredients
- 1 large pita bread
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- ½ red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline and soaked in cold water (5 minutes)
- 300 gm mixed leaves, such as watercress, purslane, witlof, baby frisée, rocket and baby spinach
- 3 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- 6 medjool dates, pitted
- ¼ cup mint, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup coriander, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp sumac (or to taste)
- 100 gm blanched almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped
Date dressing
- 3 medjool dates, pitted
- 10 gm ginger (about 2cm), thickly sliced
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar
- 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)
Method
- 1Preheat oven to 150°C. For date dressing, combine dates, ginger and coriander seeds in a saucepan over medium heat, add just enough water to cover, and simmer until dates are soft (10-12 minutes). Remove from heat, then transfer dates to a blender with vinegar, oil, preserved lemon and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Season to taste, adding more lemon juice if needed (dressing should be quite tangy).
- 2Meanwhile, drizzle pita with olive oil and bake on an oven tray until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Cool briefly, then break into pieces.
- 3Drain onion, combine with remaining ingredients, except pita bread, in a bowl, add a little dressing and toss to coat. Serve salad with crisp pita and remaining dressing.
