Match of the week

Rocket and parmesan salad with dry amontillado sherry

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on January 19 2009 at 08:00

I've taken recently to combining my salad course and cheese course. Over the years, influenced by the time we've spent in France, we've picked up the habit of following our main course with a salad and nowadays I prefer - and it's cheaper - to eat one cheese at a time.

My favourite combination is a rocket and parmesan salad - the peppery rocket and salty parmesan, which I shave over the top, just go so well together. I've been using some fabulous 22 year old parmesan which has a real depth of flavour and dress the salad lightly with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing

It's a salad that works pretty well with whatever red wine you're drinking but the other day I thought I'd dry it with a dry amontillado sherry - nothing special just one in the Waitrose own label range - and it added a whole other dimension, almost like adding grilled nuts to the salad. With a nice little touch of sweetness, even though the sherry is technically dry.

Very easy to do at home - do try it!

Image © Maksim Shebeko - Fotolia.com

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