Bresaola with Rocket, Goats Cheese and Balsamic Sultanas
This is a simple starter with easy to find ingredients at any time of year. It reads Italian and it looks Italian, with a striking depth of red, lush green rocket and the brilliant white of goats cheese.
Bresaola is to beef what pork is to Parma ham – not to be confused with carpaccio which is a raw product, bresaola is cured and air dried, typically from the Alpine region of Italy which produces sweet soft meat, imparted with the subtle flavours of its environment.
I use a soft goats cheese, one without the rind so it mixes easily with a little olive oil to form a lumpy dressing, but you could make a tasty lunch with a thick slice of good bread, scorched on the griddle, and topped with a round of goats log melting from under the grill.
The balsamic sultanas take practically zero effort and will keep for ages but you ideally need to start them the night before if you want them for lunch the next day. Other than that, the whole thing is nothing more than an assembly job.
Ingredients
(serves 4)
3 x slices bresaola per person
1 x small bag of wild rocket
3 x tablespoons sultanas
1 x tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar
3 x tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
125g goats cheese
Half a fresh lemon
2 – 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Mix the sultanas with the balsamic vinegar and leave to steep overnight, or all day (8 hours).
The following day add the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the sultanas and set to one side.
Juice the lemon and add a tablespoon to a small bowl along with a further two of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, mix briefly to emulsify and then add the goats cheese. Roughly mash the goats cheese with a fork to form a lumpy dressing.
When you’re ready to serve, toss the rocket with a splash of the lemon juice, and a drizzle of oil.
Loosely pinch the bresaola to form decorative florets or use to wrap around small bunches of the rocket to form rolls.
Drizzle with the goats cheese dressing, then scatter over the sultanas. Season with a good twist of coarse black pepper.