Bacon, pea and goat’s cheese salad
Ingredients
- 12 rashers goat bacon
- 200g sugar snap peas
- 250g fresh (or frozen) shelled peas
- 4 big handfuls pea shoots
- 125g fresh goat’s cheese or goat’s curd
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
- 100ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus an extra splash
- 25g fresh goat’s cheese or goat’s curd
- 1 small banana shallot, peeled and finely sliced
- 30 fresh mint leaves, finely shredded, plus a few extra for sprinkling
- 4 bushy fresh tarragon sprigs, leaves picked and roughly chopped
Method
- Arrange the bacon rashers in a single layer in a roasting tray, put in a cold oven and set the heat to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Cook for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper (alternatively, fry slowly in a large frying pan).
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the sugar snaps and peas for about 2 minutes until just tender. Drain and tip into a bowl of cold water to cool, then drain again.
- For the dressing, put the mustard in a small mixing bowl with the lemon zest and juice. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture thickens and emulsifies. Finally, whisk in the 25g goat’s cheese/curd to make a creamy dressing. Season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the sliced shallot and herbs.
- Lightly toss the drained sugar snaps and peas with the pea shoots and pile onto a serving platter (or divide among 4 plates). Pour over a little of the dressing.
- Dot the 125g goat’s cheese/curd over the top, then tear each rasher of bacon into a few pieces and scatter over the salad. Add a few mint leaves, a splash of olive oil and serve with the remaining dressing.
