Recipe: Prosciutto Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette

For each month of the spring term, I will introduce a primary ingredient and illustrate its capabilities through a key dish. For June, the ingredient of the month is… acid! Now, acids may sound intimidating. However, they come in many forms, often to enhance textures, balance flavours, or add a refreshing element. This includes citrus fruits, vinegar, wine, buttermilk, citric acid and many more. Acids, in the form of marinades, can enhance the texture of poultry by tenderising the meat. It may also balance flavours by reducing the richness of certain ingredients. For instance, wine is added to a bolognese sauce to reduce the richness of the meat. In other words, citrus and acids go perfectly with meats or cured meats due to their acidic characteristics. 

For this month, a prosciutto salad with citrus vinaigrette is the perfect dish to illustrate these acidic characteristics. The citrus fruits and vinaigrette capture the refreshing element of acids while balancing the richness of the prosciutto. With that, I hope you enjoy this recipe and learn a bit about how acids perform!

Tools:

Large mixing bowl

Tongs and a mixing spoon 

Small jar or mason jar 

Optional: baking sheet and parchment paper 

Ingredients:

Citrus Vinaigrette:

3 tbsp of orange juice (without pulp)

 2 tbsp of lemon juice

2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil 

1 ½ tbsp of honey 

1 tsp of salt

A pinch of black pepper

Prosciutto Salad:

½ – ¾ cup of prosciutto, based on your preference of saltiness and richness 

1 ¼ cup of Italian green mix or greens of your choice

Optional: shaved parmesan or feta cheese

Instructions:

1. In a small jar or mason jar, combine the orange and lemon juice, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt and black pepper. Shake to mix well. 
2. In a large salad bowl, combine the Italian green mix, vinaigrette dressing and prosciutto. 
3. Optionally, you can fry the prosciutto to add a crunchy element to the salad. Preheat the oven to 375F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the prosciutto evenly across the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the prosciutto is crispy and slightly golden. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your prosciutto, so be attentive to the oven to ensure they don’t get burned. 

With the hot summer approaching, a salad is the perfect dish to refresh your palate! I hope you learned and experienced a few things about acids. Enjoy!