Classic Tomato, Cucumber, Pepper and Onion Summer Salad Istrian Recipe

This colourful cucumber, tomato, pepper and onion salad is very refreshing, and it is made during the summer when the vegetables are at their best and in abundance.

It is absolutely delicious, so easy to make, it hardly takes any effort.

It is traditionally served as a side dish to accompany grilled meats, but can be enjoyed as a main meal on a hot summer's day when you want to keep things easy.

To make it more substantial, I simply toast a piece bread, cut it into cubes and mix it into the salad (resembling a concept of Italian, Tuscan, Panzanella salad).

If you ever had a chance to travel along the Istrian coast or Dalmatia (in Croatia) and asked in the restaurant for a side salad, it is most likely that you were brought this one. It is an absolute classic during the summer season as the vegetables in this salad have a very high content of water and therefore the salad is very cooling.

This type of salad has been on the dinner tables of the locals – well, since forever, during the summer months almost on a daily basis.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 (as a side salad)

• 1 yellow bell pepper (can use orange, red or green bell pepper)

• 1 medium-large cucumber

• 2-4 tomatoes (depending on the size, I used vine tomatoes each weighing roughly 170g) Make sure you use in season, ripe and juicy tomatoes (can use San Marzano tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes, grape tomatoes or a variety of your preference).

• red onion or salad onion (about 40g), sliced

• a few fresh basil leaves, torn, or dry oregano (optional)

  For the dressing

• extra virgin olive oil, generous drizzle

• red or white wine vinegar, a drizzle

• sea salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste

Method

Peel and slice the cucumber into coins and place into a big salad bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the bowl.

Slice the bell pepper and the onions and put into the bowl.

Mix gently all the vegetables.

Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of vinegar, season with sea salt and black pepper.

For extra dimension, in terms of flavour, sprinkle the salad with a bit of dried oregano or with a few freshly torn basil leaves.

Toss and serve.

Austrian Style (no mayo) Potato Salad Recipe

This recipe for Austrian style potato salad uses sliced boiled potatoes and a simple dressing made with olive oil and vinegar and no use of mayonnaise, which makes it very light and fresh.

It can be enjoyed as a main dish and it is most commonly pared with a famous Wiener schnitzel and breaded fillets of fish.

Great dish to add into your picnic baskets and great side dish to barbecued meat, fish and vegetables, and a great addition to any selection on a buffet table.

This potato salad is best made ahead allowing the potatoes to soak and absorb the light vinaigrette, this makes it very juicy and succulent.

The beauty of this salad is that it can be enjoyed and eaten warm, at a room temperature or chilled in the fridge (perfect for hot summer days).

In Slovenia, up and down the country this is a dish (Krompirjeva Solata) that is prepared in the households and canteen on a regular basis and sometimes found in local family run restaurants.

I am sharing here the recipe for this humble and very tasty potato salad that has been prepared and enjoyed for generations in my family.

To this basic potato salad you can add hard boiled eggs and other types of raw vegetables, this is not however the way it is traditionally eaten.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g waxy potatoes (like new or baby potatoes, Jersey Royal, Charlotte and similar, they have smooth and dense flesh that holds its shape when cooked; for this recipe I used miniature potatoes)

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 50ml white wine vinegar (can use cider vinegar)

• onion (about 30g or to taste), peeled and finely chopped, optional

• fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly or finely to your preference

• 100ml cold water

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Wash the potatoes, place them into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, cover with a lid and simmer until the potatoes are fully cooked and tender (for small, baby potatoes it should take between 8-12 minutes).

Alternatively, you can cook the potatoes with your preferred method like steaming or microwaving.

Drain well and peel the potatoes when still warm (as soon as you can handle them).

Slice them and transfer into a serving salad dish.

Pour over cold water and let the potatoes cool completely (pouring cold water over warm potatoes stops the potatoes absorb too much dressing, therefore the potato salad stays nice and moist).

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While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the dressing.

In a small bowl pour olive oil, vinegar, sea salt, black pepper and whisk well. Add finely chopped onions.

Pour the dressing over sliced potatoes and mix very gently so the potatoes do not break completely (some will break, and this is normal).

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Taste and adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Sliced Fennel and Rocket Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing Istrian Recipe

This simple and fresh salad makes a full-flavoured side dish and will sit nicely along side any main course. It is quick and easy to make, all you need is a few fennel bulbs, rocket leaves and uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing. It can also be enjoyed as a main salad if you are looking for a nutritious and light meal recipe.

Raw fennel can be quite fibrous, but when sliced very thinly and mixed with some salad leaves it really makes a wonderful salad.

Wild rocket has been used as a culinary herb since Roman times, and this peppery leaves was a little known weed.

Fennel and wild rocket salad has been popular along the coast of Slovenian Istria, where I come from, long before wild rocket became “fashionable” and mass produced for the supermarkets and food stores.

Along the Slovenian coast and inland Istria wild rocket grows naturally on the fields and other areas with dry and poor soil (close to typical Istrian dry stone walls), and has been foraged by the locals since – well, since forever, and they mixed wild rocket leaves with other types of salad leaves to make a variety of different salads. My 96 year old nona remembers very vividly picking it.

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I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious shaved fennel and rocket leaves salad recipe that will bring freshness to your dinner table, and for extra flavour and a bit of crunchy texture you can top this salad with walnut kernels or lightly toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 2 fennel bulbs

• pack of rocket leaves (about 60-100g)

• juice of ½ of lemon, or to taste

• extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, or to taste

• sea salt

• a handful of walnut kernels, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous.

Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

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Thinly slice the bulb using a sharp knife or ideally mandoline slicer, if you have one.

Transfer the fennel slices into a big salad bowl and add rocket leaves.

Season with sea salt, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Toss together, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Sprinkle and scatter a few walnut kernels and fennel fronds, if using.

Serve immediately directly from a salad bowl or pile onto plates.

Cooked fennel salad with lemon and olive oil dressing Istrian Recipe

Cooked fennel salad is a great choice when you want to complete a meal with a simple salad, all you need is a few humble fresh fennel bulbs and an uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing which will get soaked up with some crunchy bread.

This fennel salad is rustic and informal, very healthy and nutritious and a great companion to grilled meats and fish, very fresh and incredibly easy to prepare, can be done in advance, stored in a fridge and served cold on a hot summer day.

Along the Slovenian coast, where I grew up, the area is blessed with Mediterranean climate, which subsequently means that there is an abundance of fennel, a very much loved vegetable by the locals, it is traditionally eaten raw or cooked in salads, or braised, which does go down a treat. Wild fennel is also abundant and grows just about anywhere it can, the fronds are used in the local cuisine instead of flat leaf parsley or in combination with.

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious cooked fennel salad that it has been made in my family, and by the locals, well, since forever.

If you go so the food store, see some lovely fennel bulbs, and not quite sure what to do with them, you can start with this recipe...

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as part of meal

• few fresh fennel bulbs, approximately 900g (smaller bulbs are better for this dish)

• extra virgin olive oil, a very generous drizzle

• 1 lemon (juice of ½ or whole lemon, depending on a taste)

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly or finely chopped (amount to taste)

• sea salt

• black pepper, optional

• fennel fronds, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous. Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Discard the stalks or use them in other recipes for soups and stews, you can use them as a bed for roasted chicken or other meats, and roasted fish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

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Stand your fennel straight up and slice in half.

Check how big the core is, if it is quite big, it is a good idea to remove it for this recipe, as they are very fibrous. The cooking time for this recipe is fairly short, and the core, if not removed, could stay quite hard.

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To remove the core, take a knife at a 45 degree angle on both sides of the core and slice in, the core will pop out easily.

Place the fennel in a pot, add boiling water, about ¾ up, alternatively you can steam the fennel.

Put the lid on and gently simmer for about 15 minutes, cooking time will depend on the size of the fennel pieces and the desired consistency.

Adjust cooking time, depending on whether you want the fennel quite soft, or prefer it with still quite a bit of a bite.

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Drain in a colander, run under cold water, leave to drain well and cool a bit.

Slice cooked fennel to your liking.

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Transfer sliced fennel onto a serving plate.

Season with sea salt and black pepper, if using.

Dress cooked fennel with very generous extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh flat leaf parsley an fennel fronds, if using.

Serve at room temperature or cold, place the serving plate in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves, and make sure you have some crunchy bread to soak up all those juices.

Just a thought

For extra flavour, sprinkle dressed fennel salad with dried garlic, not a very traditional way of serving, but a nice addition or a variation of the recipe.

White asparagus with hard boiled eggs Venetian style Recipe

This exquisite recipe is so easy and quick to prepare you can hardly call it a recipe. It consist of gently boiling the asparagus and dress them with oil, sea salt and pepper to allow the delicate and mild sweet taste of white asparagus to be fully enhanced and appreciated. Asparagus prepared this way can be served as a starter, main course or as a side dish and is a great meal for vegetarians.

White asparagus grow with the absence of sunlight which prevents the photosynthesis to take place and therefore stops the asparagus turning green in colour.

Back home, where I come from, on the Slovenian coast, this dish, (Beli beluši s trdo kuhanimi jajci / Beli šparglji s trdo kuhanimi jajci) among other asparagus dishes, is very popular during the fairly short asparagus season and the locals make the best of it.

My nona shared with me a very touching story about white asparagus. She very modestly confessed to me that when she was a little girl, her father was the first farmer in the village (Marezige), and the first in the surrounding area to grow white asparagus. She also told me the story that when the asparagus were almost ready to be harvested, he would guard them during the night as these vegetables were very precious source of income for the family and were almost never consumed for domestic use. Only a very small amount of the asparagus, the ones that broke during the harvest, were used by the family for cooking, and this was a real treat for everyone.

White asparagus were, and still are, more difficult and more laborious to grow, therefore they fetch a higher price when they are sold on the market. The asparagus would be taken by my great grandmother to Trieste, just across the border, a big port city with Imperial style cafes, and important theatres where a fairly high number of wealthy noble families used to live, families that could easily afford to buy this type of vegetable and appreciate its gastronomic use.

My nona also told me that the locals used to say that the white asparagus were so cherished they were considered to be vegetable fit for the queen.

Even nowadays, white asparagus, although more accessible, are still pricier compared to the green ones, and they are enjoyed as a “festive food” especially around Easter celebrations when they are in season.

There is a very close geographical proximity between my home town and the Italian region of Veneto, where this flavoursome and elegant dish is typical, (Asparagi bianchi con uova sode alla Veneta) and where in the foothills of the town of Bassano, and along the whole stretch of the river Brenta, the best, renowned, plump white asparagus are produced in terms of size and flavour.

I am sharing here this simple and very much loved family recipe which traditionally calls for white asparagus, and is a very much anticipated vegetable in the spring season. However, if you have difficulty buying them, then just use green asparagus, the dish will be equally delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg white asparagus (you can use green asparagus)

• 8 eggs, soft or hard boiled and quartered, sliced or chopped

• extra virgin olive oil (sunflower oil or a neutral tasting oil of your preference)

• sea salt

• black pepper

• red or white vinegar, optional

Method

First of all prepare the asparagus. Chop off the ends which are normally hard, woody and fibrous.

With the potato peeler, peel the asparagus starting from just underneath the tips.

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Place the asparagus in a pan with a small amount of boiling water.

Gently boil for about 10-15 minutes or until just tender. Test by inserting the tip of a small sharp knife into the end of the asparagus as this part takes the longest to cook. The cooking times will vary according to the size and thickness of the asparagus.

With a slotted spoon gently remove the asparagus from the pan and place them, one next to each other, on paper kitchen towel. Allow the asparagus to drain and cool.While removing the asparagus be careful not to break the tips, they cook quicker than the ends and will be much softer, if they do break, however, it is not the end of the world, they will just not look quite as nice on the plate.

Alternatively, you can steam the asparagus or cooked them tied in a bundle and placed upright in a tall pot with two thirds of their length immersed in cold water. Bring the water to boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes (the steam will cook the tips). Remove and untie the bundle.

Transfer the cooked asparagus and lay them on a serving plate.

Place the soft or hard boiled eggs on the top or between the asparagus.

Dress liberally with oil, sea salt and black pepper.

Serve with crunchy bread to soak up the juices.

Just a thought

You can use the water in which you cooked the asparagus as a stock. Just add the ends you cut off the asparagus and the peels and add them to the water, gently boil for about half and hour and strain.

You will end up with a delicious and delicate asparagus flavoured stock to be used for asparagus risotto, minestrone primavera or asparagus soup.

If you are not using the stock straight away it is perfect for freezing.

Wine suggestione

Collio Sauvignon DOC 2020 - Schiopetto

Dandelion Salad with hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes and crispy pancetta Recipe

This very healthy and nutritious but incredibly tasty salad is made from young and tender dandelion leaves and enriched with hard boiled eggs, cooked potatoes and crispy pancetta that give us extra energy for the long spring walks in the nature and for completing all those chores in the garden and inside the house.

This salad can also easily become vegetarian and vegan friendly by simply omitting some of the ingredients.

Dandelion leaves, with their verdant colour, can be eaten cooked (customary on the Slovenian coast) or raw, they have a pleasant bitter taste, a bit like peppery rocket salad, and they should be picked small and tender before the plant blooms, then they turn seriously bitter.

When foraging for dandelion try to avoid the areas close to busy roads, lanes popular with dog walkers (no need to go into too much detail as to why), and fields close to farms that have potentially been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers and antibiotics which get absorbed into the plant.

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To pick dandelion you can use a small knife and cut around the plant root and then pull it out of the ground or just simply tear the leaves off the plant.

Dandelion is very rich in vitamins and minerals, very good for our body, and yes it might be a bit bitter, but it is this bitter substance in the dandelion leaves that helps to optimise the function of the gallbladder and the liver. They contain a lot of potassium which is very beneficial for the kidneys, and iron which enriches our blood and helps to purify it. .

This is of no coincidence since dandelion salad is very popular in early spring (around Easter), not only because this is the right time to pick the leaves, but also because this salad is also traditionally eaten with eggs, a symbol of purity, rebirth, and rejuvenation.

In Slovenia, where I come from, picking dandelion leaves in spring time during long walks and returning home with a free lunch or dinner is a great pastime, and almost an obsession.

But there is another tradition that is deeply rooted and much anticipated, especially with the children. It is colouring and decorating Easter eggs, and lots of them, they would be beautifully displayed in small wicker baskets and than used, yes, you guessed it, in the dandelion salad and of course other dishes.

I am sharing here the family recipe, that includes the use of crunchy pancetta or ocvirki (very commonly used in Slovenia, they are small pork cracklings in lard, usually home made, kept in glass jars in the fridge).

A small amount (about 2Tbsp) of pork cracklings in lard will be placed in a small frying pan and warmed up, by doing so, the lard melts and the cracklings get very crunchy, all of this would then be added to the dandelion salad substituting the oil and the pancetta.

If you never have this salad before, try it and play around with the ingredients to suit your taste, keep the ingredients you like and omit the ones you are less keen on. You can also forage a smaller amount of dandelion leaves than indicated in this recipe and mix with other salad leaves.

Have a go and make this super salad, next time you look at the dandelion you will not see it as a annoying weed...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 100-150g freshly picked young dandelion leaves, trimmed and picked through

• 4 eggs, hard boiled

• potatoes (about 400g) cooked and peeled (you can use baby potatoes or new potatoes with the skin on)

• 150g pancetta rashers (sliced pancetta) or streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked

• extra virgin olive oil (or other type if prefer)

• vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar, you can use red or white wine vinegar or cider vinegar works well too)

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and very finely chopped, optional (I did not use garlic I this recipe)

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Start by preparing all the ingredients needed for the salad.

Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with water, bring to boil and simmer until cooked.

Cut pancetta rashers or streaky pancetta into small pieces, place them in a small pan and gently fry until very crisp. Remove them from the pan, and place on to kitchen paper so they can drain, and the excess fat can be absorbed. Let the rashers cool and set them aside.

Cook the eggs in a small pan of simmering water until hard boiled, cool, peel and cut into quarters.

Clean dandelion leaves, wash and dry thoroughly (use salad spinner if you have one).

Wine suggestion

Collio Friulano DOC 2021 - Pighin

Green Beans simple salad Recipe

This Green Bean salad is one of the quickest side dishes you can prepare using only four ingredients. It is incredibly simple to make, as the beans, after being cooked and still warm get tossed in delicious extra virgin olive oil and sliced garlic.

This salad, using fresh green beans, when they are in season, is an excellent choice to accompany almost any meat or fish dish.

In this recipe I slice the garlic, since this allows the option to remove it easily if someone would only like a hint of garlic flavour without a stronger one, even though traditionally the garlic is very finely chopped.

Best served still warm or at room temperature and in the summer is very refreshing dish taken out of the fridge.

This side dish is a perfect example of simplicity at its best and it has been with me as long as I can remember.

I am sharing here how it has been prepared in my family.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as part of meal

• 500g fresh green beans

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the best you can afford)

• 1 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar (can use balsamic vinegar)

• 1 clove of garlic(peeled and crushed or very finely sliced or chopped) You can replace garlic with finely sliced onion.

Method

Trim the stalk ends off the beans, place them in a colander and wash well with cold running water.

Place the beans in a pan with boiling unsalted water and cook the beans for about 15 minutes or just until al dente (tender but still with a bit of bite).

Drain well and place the beans in a large bowl. Add a pinch of sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, sliced, chopped or crushed garlic and toss well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve and enjoy!