Monday, August 13, 2012

WHY RANDOM IS WONDERFUL



Queen Delia comes up trumps again!  The wonderful Dom has challenged us to randomly choose a recipe from the gazillion recipes we all have, and just give it a go.  This dish is one of the reasons that Dom's Random Recipe Challenge is so wonderful.  This month Delia Smith's "Summer Collection" came to hand when I randomly chose my book, this is a book that I used alot when I first bought it, and I would still refer to it from time to time - well the book popped open at page 38/39, so my choices were the Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad (which I have made time and time again) and to Marinated Mozzarella with Avocado (which I have skipped over time and time again!!).  The reason I skipped over the recipe?  I just couldn't get a marinated avocado salad to work in my head - I imagined horrible black pieces of slimy avocado ruining the beautiful cheese.  I should, of course, have trusted Delia, I think in all my time cooking, she has only let me down once (and maybe that was just my wonky taste!!!).

The salad was a beautiful smooth texture, which works well with a selection of salads, many of which will be crunchy.  The fruit and cheese melded in together, helped by the kick of the dressing.  I always remember Nigella's comments about avocados moisturising from within, whenever I eat them, and find myself glowing with health and smugness (for a few moments anyway!!).  Try this salad, it's a little bit different, totally delicious and will do wonders for your skin and hair - happy days!!

Marinated Mozzarella with Avocado

110g (4oz)       Mozzarella Cheese - the best you can get.
1                       Avocado - nicely ripe (I used two)
1/4                   Red Pepper - cut into fine slices
1                      Handful of basil leaves - Delia says to use 18!!
2                      scallions (spring onions) finely chopped

Dressing

1                     small clove of garlic
1                     tsp sea salt
1                     rounded tsp of dry mustard powder
1                     dessert spoon white wine vinegar
5                     dessert spoons of extra virgin olive oil
1                     dessert spoon snipped chives
salt and pepper


Prepare the salad about 2 hours in advance. 
Slice the mozzarella into 5mm (1/4 inch) slices.
Peel, destone and slice the avocado into thin slices.
Arrange the cheese and avocado in alternate overlapping slices on a pretty plate.
Now scatter the finely sliced pepper and basil over the salad.
Make up the dressing by either grating the garlic or pureeing it with the salt.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a jar.
Pour over the mozzarella and avocado.
Cover and allow the flavours to combine for two hours.
Serve and enjoy!



Thank you very much for the links and suggestions for my son's culinary adventure - unfortunately the stove in his apartment broke, pretty much immediately after I posted the recipes - and they haven't been able to persuade the landlord to replace it yet!!  Sod's (or Murphy's) Law!!

19 comments:

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

What a delicious looking salad! Dom's challenges are fun, I've participated in a few!

Too bad about your son's stove. I believe it's the law in most U.S. citys and towns that the stove has to work - they should tell him they will have to report him to town hall if he doesn't comply.

little macaroon. said...

Some of my most favourite ingredients! I will certainly be trying this if I can get nicely ripe avocados...

thecelticcookinshanghai said...

Great idea to randomly cook. What is so funny is I had just pulled this very book off my shelf, and dusted it down. Hadn't used it for some time but wanted to cook a dish for a dinner party I'm having on Saturday night. "Thai Salmon Filo Parcels" Hope it's as good as I recall and looks as good as your dish does.

Ana Regalado said...

I've seen some wonderful recipes using avocado lately ! I don't know why I don't like it :P :D Anyway , that dish looks fantastic and healthy to boot !

Please Do Not Feed The Animals. said...

Yum. I love avocado and mozzarella. You picked a good one. I would tend to just have my mozzarella with lovely tomatoes and some balsamic but maybe I should let you persuade me to branch out.

Unknown said...

I wish my bf liked avo, but he hates it lol however I have sent this to my friend who recently bought a load of avos and doesnt know what to do with all of them! Looks delish!

Phil in the Kitchen said...

Lovely stuff. I always expect the random choice to end up with Delia for me but it's not happened yet. 18 leaves of basil is very precise but basil leaves vary enormously in size. I must have a word with Delia about that.

Alchemy In The Kitchen said...

Good old Delia. She really is the queen of bomb-proof recipes. Love Mozarella and avocado so making this.

Susan Lindquist said...

I have allllll these ingredients and a diet that requires salads on a regular basis ... what a delightful find for you (and now, me!) Wink!

Unknown said...

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....hello hello hello... Well Hello Brownie Well Hello Brownie, it's so nice to have you back where you belong!.... and with a brilliant salad recipe and for random recipes... i am honoured and a little blushing... but wow isn't delia just fabulous!!!. thank you so much for taking part honey pie! xx

Unknown said...

What a great Vegan meal. Its healthy and can be serve as appetizer. Yum! Can't wait to taste it.
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Choclette said...

Oh what a lucky random recipe and how delicious - fancy skipping over it all these years. One of my all time favourite salads is avocado, mozzarella and tomato. My difficulty is getting hold of decent avocados and decent tomatoes. Never had it with peppers before though.

Unknown said...

Oooh that is a favourite of mine. I LOVE avocado and mozzarella and the marinade sounds wonderful. Hope your son's oven is fixed soon :)

The Renwicks said...

Yummy yum! We'll have to try!

Vanessa @ Cakes and Teacups said...

I love it! I can eat this everyday... In fact I have one week straight for lunch! : )

prince snow farm said...

This looks fabulous...and very doable this long weekend!

prince snow farm said...

Oh, and maybe some day we will meet as I search for my Brennan, O'Malley, Waters, and kennedy relatives.....

Manu said...

What a lovely and fresh recipe!
Nice to hear from you!

Rosita Vargas said...

Estupenda receta me gusta linda y sabrosa,abrazos y abrazos