In her delightful cookbook, Food of the Italian South, Katie Parla (a fellow New Jersey native) offers an extraordinarily simple and delicious recipe for ‘Insalata e Limone’—a lemon and mint salad. The original recipe calls for citrus, olive oil, chili flakes, salt, and fresh mint. In our version, we’ve replaced the salt with our Moroccan Preserved Meyer Lemon Paste, which balances the flavors and adds a subtle sweetness that tempers the bitterness often found in standard lemons.
Need
4 large or 6 medium-size lemons cut into small, thin pieces (aim for slivers)
3 TBS light extra-virgin olive oil, the best quality you have on hand
1 tsp chilli flakes (smoked chili adds another layer of flavor)
1 tsp Moroccan Preserved Meyer Lemon Paste
Handful of fresh, torn mint leaves
Do
Combine the ingredients and let them marinate for a couple of hours at room temperature, then taste. If desired, add another 1/4 teaspoon of If & When for an extra touch of salty, subtle sweetness. Just before serving, add more fresh mint to enhance the flavors.
Notes
We marinated and served this salad at room temperature the same day, and it was a hit. The next day, we tasted the leftovers cold from the fridge—still delicious! Mixing the oil with If & When created a stable emulsion, keeping the oil light and fluid even at cooler temperatures.
Based on the recipe, " Insalata e Limone" by Katie Parla in her cookbook, Food of the Italian South, p. 172 (2019)
