Our chopped salad

Tam West

According to legend, chopped salad originated from a customer at the Beverly Hills institution, La Scala, requesting that his salad, a blend of iceberg lettuce, salami, mozzarella and marinated chickpeas be chopped into bite-sized bits to make it less messy to eat. I have taken a simple idea from the salad town, Los Angeles, and made one using some of our locally grown and produced ingredients.

For the ginger dressing

1 Tbsp	Fresh ginger, finely grated, or use less to taste
3 Tbsp	Light soy sauce
2 Tbsp	Lemon juice
1 Tbsp	Vegetable oil
1 splash	Sesame oil

For the salad

1 head	Baby cos lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried (Main)
½ large	Cucumbers, diced
1	Fennel bulb, trimmed and very finely sliced
1	Avocado, ripe but firm, halved, stone removed, peeled and thinly sliced
1 packet	Nori sheet, 5g, roasted, cut into strips (Main)
1 packet	Wagyu bresaola, 60g, from NZ (Main)
1 Tbsp	Seeds, use a mix, such as poppyseeds, linseeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Place all the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well
2. Divide salad ingredients between 4 shallow bowls. Add the bresaola and top with seaweed and the seed mix. Drizzle each bowl with a little of the ginger dressing.

More from Kathy Paterson using New Zealand produce

• Beef thin skirt with black garlic butter, warm lentils and roasted cauliflower
• Sponge cake with dried apricot puree, whipped cream and edible flowers