Eating My Words

Photo © Rob Jones

It is a matter of days since I disparaged ‘Warm Salads.’

My entirely legitimate argument centred on the fact that it seemed wholly unnatural to have a salad that was in any way warm. I know it’s a bit of a silo mentality, but one that I have found it hard to break out of … until today when on the spur of the moment, I crossed the line and created a rather delicious dish that could only be described as - a ‘warm salad.’

It came about in the following way:

I have won plaudits in recent months for my Waldorf-esque Salad. I say ‘-esque’ because for various reasons I don’t like to say that anything I produce in the kitchen is the real deal. I suppose a better way to say it, is that anything I cook is inspired by a particularly well known dish. It’s probably because I tend to deviate from recipes. Sometimes substantially. I start with good intentions … then … I get flashbacks to Great British Menu and go rogue. It’s the rebel in me.

Anyhow - the Waldorf-esque inspired salad recipe involved - rocket, sliced spring onions, grated apple, grated radish, toasted crushed walnuts, a handful of sultanas, diced celery, pinch of black pepper, all tossed in garlic mayonnaise. Yum, on its own.

The inciting incident:

The occasional sell-off of un-used pizza toppings in the supermarket - namely, on this occasion finely chopped chorizo - and some sliced mushrooms I had which were inching towards the food-recycling caddy.

The original idea was to make them separate, but to eat in the same meal.

But then came a rash moment. After frying the chorizo-soil and mushrooms together, I tossed them into the Waldorf-esque Salad, and voila - a Warm Salad.

So now I must temper my criticism and say that some warm salads are acceptable.

But I’m keeping a critical eye out nevertheless.

R