Harriet Leander’s Warm Fresh Cheese Salad

Harriet was our food mother in The Blue Raincoat restaurant in Galway nearly 20 years ago. She is a master of combining food flavours and textures, just as in this salad.

Ingredients

SERVES 4
4 rashers unsmoked bacon
80ml Port
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g fresh goats’ cheese
1 head lollo rosso lettuce
1 tablespoon good olive oil

Method

Fry the bacon rashers over a medium heat until crispy and then put to one side. Pour the fat from the frying pan into a small saucepan. Add the Port to the bacon fat and heat it gently until warm. Season with a little salt and pepper. Place the cheese in a bowl and pour the warm Port and bacon fat over the top. Shred the lettuce into a bowl, tear the cheese into small chunks, chop the crispy bacon into slivers and scatter both over the lettuce. Stir any remaining Port and bacon liquor into the olive oil and pour over the salad as a warm dressing. Serve immediately.