As summer officially begins on 21st June, June salads will delight us with the addition of seasonal fruit.
Asparagus continues to be present, which we can enjoy with a mouth-watering cheese cream and plums for a salad that also becomes a green all-in-one dish, great to take to the office or to the pool in a convenient lunch box.
My salad with cooked vegetables features snow peas accompanied by carrots, but above all by the contrast of the sweetness of the figs and the saltiness of the crispy Prosciutto di Parma: as an appetiser, main course or as a one-course meal, the Salad of snow peas and figs will win you over with its explosion of flavours.
The tip I want to share with June salads is the use of spray oil, a very interesting way to dress our dishes. Why?
For two main reasons: the first is that we will use up to 90 per cent less oil for dressing, thus significantly reducing the calorie intake of the salads themselves; the second is that in the canned bag of Fratelli Mantova the oil is stored in the dark and protected from the air, thus guaranteeing ideal preservation.
My choice for these salads is avocado oil containing 100% oil extracted from the pulp of the avocado fruit, rich in vitamin E, with a light and delicate taste and texture.
For more ideas, see also the reinforced salads of May.
Asparagus and plum salad
carbohydrates 7.76g for 1 serving
Ingredients for 1 salad
- 3-4 asparagus
- 50g plums
- 30g soy milk*
- 30g Ricotta cheese
- 20g Robiola cheese
- shelled pistachios
- 1 lemon with edible zest
- Fratelli Mantova’s avocado oil
- salt and pepper
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation
- With a mandoline, slice the asparagus into ribbons and marinate them for at least 15 minutes with a teaspoon of lemon juice, salt, pepper and a splash of avocado oil.
- Prepare a cream by mixing ricotta, robiola, grated lemon peel and a grinding of pepper.
- Assemble the salad by placing the asparagus ribbons in a salad bowl, the cheese cream, the plums cut into wedges and a sprinkling of shelled pistachios.
Snow pea and fig salad
carbohydrates 9.58g for 1 serving
Ingredients for 1 serving
- 150 g snow peas
- 70 g carrots
- 1 dark fig
- 1 slice of Prosciutto di Parma
- lemon juice
- Fratelli Mantova’s avocado oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
- Slice the carrots into ribbons using a mandoline, season them with lemon juice, salt, pepper and a splash of avocado oil, then allow to rest for the time needed to prepare the other ingredients.
- Boil the snow peas in boiling salted water until cooked but still firm. Plunge them into cold water, then drain immediately.
- Place the Prosciutto slice on a plate and let it crisp up in the microwave or in a non-stick frying pan: in the microwave, set the oven on low power for short periods of time until the desired crispiness is reached; in the frying pan, do not grease the bottom and cook on low heat until crispy.
- Assemble the salad by placing the snow beans on the bottom of the salad bowl, the carrot ribbons and a well-washed fig cut into wedges, season with a pinch of salt, pepper and a splash of avocado oil, then finish by adding the crispy prosciutto slice.
