Ploughman's Salad

 

I made myself a really delicious salad for my lunch the other day. I was always really fond of the Ploughman's Pub Lunch when I lived in the U.K.   A delicious collation of ham, apple, cheese, bread, pickled onions and some salad leaves (at it's very basic). Usually, the bread is a lovely crusty or seeded bread.  Sometimes you might see grapes or a type of chutney on the plate as well.

There is nothing so delicious in the world as this. Enjoyed in a pub on a hot day after a long hike and quaffed down with a cold drink.  The older the pub the better. Very atmospheric!

Oh, how I miss England and the culture.  I was told before I went to live over there that the food was awful and it rained all the time. That was not my experience.  Yes, it did rain a fair bit, but the food was anything but awful.  Some of the freshest and quality produce, meats, cheeses, etc. ever. I am afraid that I took it quite for granted when I was there!

 

 

This delicious salad is a bit of a riff on a Ploughman's Lunch. I adapted it from a book I have entitled A Salad for All Seasons by Harry Eastwood.  Its a great book.  Some of the ingredients for the salads can be a bit difficult to acquire here in North America, but, thankfully, having lived over there I am knowledgeable enough to be able to make more than suitable substitutions when required to do so!

The dressing is the star of this salad! It goes very well with all of the other ingredients. Crunchy sweet apple, salty ham, rich cheddar cheese, toasty bread, pickled onions and those crisp salad leaves. 

The original salad made four servings. I cut it in half to make only two.  This was really delicious! I highly recommend!  

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PLOUGHMAN'S SALAD

I have had to adapt some of the ingredients to what was available to me here in Canada.  Read notes to see what I did.

For the Dressing:

• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp English mustard (hot)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• salt to taste

For the Salad:

• 1/4 cup (25g) pickled onions, cut into halves
• 1 stalk celery, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 cup (75g) diced ham
• 1/2 pink lady apple, cored and cut into thin slices
• 2 1/2 ounces (60g) sharp mature cheddar, broken into rough chunks
• 1 slice of thick granary bread
• 1 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 3 cups roughly torn salad leaves (about 135g)
• a small handful of whole walnuts, toasted (about 6)

 

English mustard is very hot. You only need it in small quantities. If you cannot find it you can use Dijon mustard. It won't be quite as spicy, but it will still taste good.

The original recipe called for walnut oil. If you have it by all means use it. I used a light olive oil in it's place.

I could not get British pickled onions, so I used North American sour pickled onions. You could use the sweet, pickled onions instead if you wished.

Pickled walnuts are not available here as were called for in the original recipe. I imagine they are difficult to find everywhere in North America, so I just used toasted walnut halves.

I also could not find ham hock or ham on the bone and so I used a ham steak which I cut into cubes. In the original recipe they used torn ham hock or ham on the bone.

I used an Irish Cheddar Cheese that I bought at the shops. It was really yummy. Derry Cheddar.  What a nice flavor it had!

 

HOW TO MAKE PLOUGHMAN'S SALAD

This goes together very quickly and easily and makes for a darn good lunch!

To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a glass jar and give them a good shake together. The sugar should be dissolved before you finish shaking it. If not, keep shaking.

Brush the bread on both sides with the olive oil and lightly salt. Pop into the toaster and toast until golden brown.

 

Toss the lettuce leaves with half of the salad dressing. Divide between two chilled plates.

Top each with half of the celery, half of the ham, half of the cheese, half the sliced apples and half of the pickled onions. (Lay out as decoratively as you can.)

Tear up the toasted bread and scatter over top.

Drizzle with the remaining dressing. Scatter the toasted walnut halves over top and serve immediately.

 

HOW TO TOAST WALNUTS

Walnuts can be toasted either on the stove top or in the oven.  I usually do mine a whole bagful at a time and keep them in an airtight container in the freezer. Toasting walnuts really helps to minimize their bitterness and highlights their beautiful nutty flavor!

OVEN - Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5.  Spread your nuts out onto a baking sheet in a single layer leaving space between the nuts.  Toast in the heated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, just until they start to turn golden and you can smell their nuttiness.

STOVETOP - Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the nuts to the dry pan in a single layer and toast, stirring frequently until they start to brown and smell nutty.  This will take about 5 minutes.

 

This was super delicious. I have always loved a Ploughman's Lunch and have often ordered it in a restaurant. Having it in salad form was a delicious alternative!

Living in Canada now I was not able to get the British style picked onions or ham hock called for in the original recipe, but my substitutions were every bit as delicious!

The dressing really makes this salad! (Can't you say that about just about any salad?)

 

There is nothing as tasty for lunch or dinner in the warmer months than a main dish salad. Here are a few more of my favorites!

SALAD COMPOSE - These are my favorite kinds of salads because they are so easy to put together with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Hard-boiled egg, crisp streaky bacon, sweet garden cherry tomatoes, fresh salad leaves (also from the garden if you are lucky), toasted garlic croutons and a tangy Sherry Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing complete the delicious picture!  Throw on some French music and pretend you are in a Bistro!

GRILLED CHICKEN AND WHEATBERRY SALAD - A colorful plate of salad greens is topped with a delicious wheatberry salad, chock full of crunch and sweetness. Crunchy toasted walnuts and chopped celery . . . sweet dried cranberries . . . sharp tasting spring onions, and a tangy lemon and olive oil dressing. This is topped again with a breast of chicken that has been rubbed with a delicious mixture of spices and grilled until perfectly cooked, and still juicy and tender. Nobody can complain about this!

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Ploughman's Salad

Prep time: 20 MinTotal time: 20 Min

Like the plate but in salad form. This is a fabulous salad! Simple, easy to make and delicious! The simple dressing is phenomenal.

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp English mustard (hot)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• salt to taste

For the Salad:

• 1/4 cup (25g) pickled onions, cut into halves
• 1 stalk celery, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 cup (75g) diced ham
• 1/2 pink lady apple, cored and cut into thin slices
• 2 1/2 ounces (60g) sharp mature cheddar, broken into rough chunks
• 1 slice of thick granary bread
• 1 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 3 cups roughly torn salad leaves (about 135g)
• a small handful of whole walnuts, toasted (about 6)

Instructions

1. To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a glass jar and give them a good shake together. The sugar should be dissolved before you finish shaking it. If not, keep shaking.
2. Brush the bread on both sides with the olive oil and lightly salt. Pop into the toaster and toast until golden brown.
3. Toss the lettuce leaves with half of the salad dressing. Divide between two chilled plates.
4. Top each with half of the celery, half of the ham, half of the cheese, half the sliced apples and half of the pickled onions. (Lay out as decoratively as you can.)
5. Tear up the toasted bread and scatter over top.
6. Drizzle with the remaining dressing. Scatter the toasted walnut halves over top and serve immediately.

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