The Ultimate Irish Summer Salad

INGREDIENTS

For the Salad:

• 3 heads Irish Little Gem lettuce, quartered lengthwise
• 250g Irish Cherry Tomatoes, whole (or halved if big)
• 6–8 Irish Radishes, halved or sliced
• ½ large cucumber, deseeded and sliced
• 2 Irish shallots, thinly sliced
• Large handful fresh Dill, plus extra for finishing
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley (optional)
• 1kg Irish Baby Potatoes
• Good Olive Oil (for roasting, dressing, and frying)

For the Ultimate Dressing:

• 3 tbsp crispy shallot olive oil + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp Dunnes Stores honey
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 lemon, zested
• A splash of tomato roasting juices (optional but incredible)
• Season well with flaky salt and cracked black pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/475°F/Gas mark 9.
2. Boil baby potatoes in salted water until fork-tender (15 min). Drain and spread the potatoes on a lined tray. Smash gently with a glass or mug.
3. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around the smashed potatoes and drizzle generously with olive oil, season with flaky salt and pepper.
4. Roast for 25–30 mins, flipping the potatoes halfway, until the potatoes are deeply golden and craggy and the tomatoes are jammy and slightly collapsed.
5. To make crispy shallots, in a small pan, fry thinly sliced shallots in olive oil until deeply golden. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while hot. Reserve three tablespoons of the frying oil for the dressing.
6. To make the dressing, whisk together the crispy shallot olive oil, one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, wholegrain mustard, honey, grated garlic, Lemon zest, splash of jammy tomato roasting juices if using and season well with flaky salt and cracked black pepper.
7. Deseed and slice the cucumber and thinly slice the radishes.
8. Now to assemble the salad, arrange the quartered little gem lettuce cut-side up on a large platter. Spoon some dressing generously into the folds of each Gem quarter. Scatter jammy roasted tomatoes and crispy smashed potatoes among the lettuce. Add chunky cucumber and radish slices, casually tumbling them through. Layer in a handful of dill and parsley, tearing it right over the top.
9. Scatter crispy shallots generously over the top along with another drizzle of dressing. Finish with flaky sea salt, cracked black pepper, lemon zest, and another rain of dill.