Prosciutto, feta and nectarine salad with griddled courgette

Summer salad time is here!

I try to steer clear of the old lettuce/tomato/cucumber combination.  It’s just so boring and tasteless.  I occasionally fail miserably – especially when I’m in a rush, but I’m always a little disappointed at how unsatisfying it is.

Now, this salad on the other hand.  This is a satisfying salad.

I sat there happily munching my way through the whole thing after hungrily taking a few photos.  The watercress was admittedly a little tricky to navigate with just a fork whilst I was typing on my laptop.  Fortunately I was eating this at home by myself, so no-one had to see me trying to unsuccessfully get it all in my mouth, which resulted in me just chewing it like a horse with large leaves and stems sticking out.

Yes, you do have to get a pan out for the courgette,  but it only takes a minute to cook, and it just goes so well with the salty feta and prosciutto.  If you wanted, you could griddle the nectarines too.  I’d definitely recommend doing that if your nectarines are on the less-ripe side.

You can mix and match the ingredients:

Swap the nectarines for peaches
Swap the feta for mozzarella
Swap the prosciutto for crispy bacon or chorizo
You could even swap the watercress for rocket if you want to reduce the ‘salad all over your face’ risk

I think I just came up with a whole new salad there 🙂

Give it a go, I bet it will become one of you new salad favourites!!

Prosciutto, feta and nectarine salad with griddled courgette (serves 1 @ 284 cals):
Ingredients:

•  1 small courgette (you’ll only be using a few strips from the outside so this should be maximum 10 cals)
• 1 tsp olive oil (40 cals)
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 large handful of watercress (10 cals)
• 1 nectarine, sliced (59)
• 2 slices of prosciutto (55 cals)
• 40g feta, crumbled (110 cals)

Dressing (optional – adds 60 extra calories if included):

• 1 tsp olive oil (40 cals)
• 1 tsp good balsamic vinegar (20 cals)
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

1.  Using a potato peeler, peel 8 strips from the courgette.  Place in a small bowl and mix with the oil, salt and pepper.  Put a griddle pan on to heat up.
2. Assemble the rest of the salad by mixing the watercress with the nectarine slices, placing in a bowl, and topping with the prosciutto and crumbled feta.
3. When the griddle pan is hot, lay the courgette across so you get horizontal lines all the way down your courgette.  Cook for about 1 minute until the lines show through, and then remove from the pan (no need to turn over).  Nestle the courgette in your salad and drizzle you salad dressing over the top if using.