Miles Collins

A Simple Summer Salad

I’ve gone back to using ricotta again after a long lay off, my former Australian pastry chef used to like using it along with everyone else if my back issues of Australian Gourmet Traveller were anything to go by. He would use it to make alternative tartlets and cheesecakes and it wasn’t until he left that I could start putting it on as a starter!

What I like about ricotta is its rustic quality, it’s there to be scooped out and served as it is, no fancy frills, no turning it into something unrecognisable. Naturally it is to Italy that I look for inspiration with ricotta but on this occasion the inspiration came from my own backyard.

I have a fig tree in the corner of my garden and for the last four years or so it has provided me with a handfull of ripe, sweet fruit. Whilst enjoying the last few rays of the weekend sun and with it a nice riocha I happened to glance over and see the first signs of this years fruit. That got me thinking about cheese and basil and vinegar, not balsamic but a really good cabernet sauvignon vinegar, perfect for the ricotta.

Figs should be eaten at room temperature, straight from the refrigerator and the taste is lost. I like to make a dressing of reduced red wine and red wine vinegar which I flavour with a bay leaf and a couple of peppercorns, once reduced to a syrup twice the amount of olive oil is gradually added to make a rich, speckled dressing. You may want to add a little sugar or a few drops of good, thick balsamic to sweeten it and bring everything together. In another pan I boil equal quantities of sugar and water until syrupy, finely grated lemon zest is added and left to cool in the syrup.

The figs are dressed with a little of the dressing and some finely sliced fresh basil, a spoon of ricotta is added and topped with some of the lemon. Garnish with some pieces of walnut, sprigs of rocket and some fresh herbs such as basil, chervil, dill and Italian parsley.