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Cress salad with ginger-date dressing

An Ottolenghi-ish salad brimming with goodness, and a sweet and tangy date dressing.
Cress saladBen Dearnley

This salad, made with orange, greens, crisp pita and sumac, is a twist on a Yotam Ottolenghi original. It lends itself particularly well to variation – try different combinations of cress and bitter greens including watercress, mizuna, baby mustard leaves, purslane, frisée and witlof.

Ingredients

Date dressing

Method

1.Preheat oven to 150°C. For date dressing, combine dates, ginger and coriander seeds in a saucepan over medium heat, add just enough water to cover, and simmer until dates are soft (10-12 minutes). Remove from heat, then transfer dates to a blender with vinegar, oil, preserved lemon and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Season to taste, adding more lemon juice if needed (dressing should be quite tangy).
2.Meanwhile, drizzle pita with olive oil and bake on an oven tray until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Cool briefly, then break into pieces.
3.Drain onion, combine with remaining ingredients, except pita bread, in a bowl, add a little dressing and toss to coat. Serve salad with crisp pita and remaining dressing.

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