English garden salad

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Sally Abé's English garden salad recipe is perfect for a light summer lunch, especially if dining al fresco. This gorgeous salad is packed with asparagus, broad beans, peas and radishes for vibrancy and freshness, while hazelnuts and crispy shallots add crunch and texture. Finished with soft-boiled quails eggs and a homemade take on a classic salad cream recipe, this salad could be shared or served individually as liked.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Garden salad

Salad cream

Method

1
Preheat a deep-fryer with oil to 175°C
2
Deep-fry the shallot slices for a couple of minutes until crisp and golden brown. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on kitchen paper as they cool
3
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Gently place the quails eggs in the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes (this should give a soft-set yolk)
4
Plunge the eggs into iced water to stop the cooking process. Adding a little vinegar to the water will make them easier to peel. Once cooled carefully peel the eggs and store in water until needed
5
Bring another pan of seasoned water to the boil. Add the asparagus spears and blanch for 3 minutes then refresh in iced water, repeat with the peas for 2 minutes and finally the broad beans for 2 minutes
6
Drain the vegetables, pod the broad beans and cut the asparagus into 2cm lengths and place everything a large bowl with the beans and peas
7
Add the salad, sliced radishes and hazelnuts to the bowl. Drizzle over the hazelnut oil season with sea salt and toss everything together to coat
8
To make the salad cream, place the egg yolks, cream, mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt then start whisking together while drizzling in the rapeseed oil
9
The cream should start to emulsify like a mayonnaise and thicken to a spoonable, creamy consistency
10
To serve, halve the quails eggs and arrange over the dressed salad. Scatter over the crispy shallot slices and spoon over the salad cream, serving any extra on the side. Garnish with flowers

After a five-year stint in the kitchen at two Michelin-starred restaurant The Ledbury, Sally is now head chef at The Harwood Arms in London.

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