Pear, Green Tomato, Green Beans, Comte & Hazelnut Autumnal Salad
Quo Vadis restaurant in London’s Soho, is an institution that shouldn’t be missed. The food, regional British fare, is very seasonal and the menu changes monthly.
A few weeks ago, in the month of October, I insisted on trying the Pear, Green Tomato, Celery, Green Beans, Comte & Hazelnut Salad, a very refreshing and a wonderful autumnal crunchy plate of food.
Because I loved the combination of the ingredients so much, I made this salad for us at home, and now I’m sharing with you the recipe below. Perhaps the word recipe is an overstatement here as I’ve decided to list all the ingredients quite loosely, so you can prepare and adjust this salad to your own liking.
Serves 4:
- 100 g of watercress leaves, washed
- 2 celery stalks, use the most tender ones with the leaves kept on, sliced
- 2 pears, peeled and cored, cut into chunks
- about 150 g of Comte cheese, diced
- 3-4 small or medium green tomatoes, cut into quarters or smaller pieces
- a generous handful of green beens
- some fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- a handful of hazelnuts, roughly chopped
For the dressing:
- juice from half a lemon
- 1 generous teaspoon, or more, of a wholegrain mustard
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- salt
- a pinch of sugar
Top and tail the beans. Boil the green beans in salted water until just tender. Drain and run under cold water for a few seconds. Once they’ve cooled down enough, cut them in half or into smaller pieces.
Prepare the dressing.
Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl or a glass. Taste and adjust seasoning, add more mustard or lemon juice to your own liking.
Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss.
Pour the dressing over and stir well.
Serve immediately, ideally with hunks of a crunchy baguette to mop up the juices.
