Salad of Chilli and Honey Peaches, Leaves and Pecans
Levi Roots, famous for The Dragons Den and his excellent Reggae Reggae sauce, crafts a summery salad with honey peaches, chilli and pecan nuts. This recipe can be found in his cookery book Grill It With Levi: 101 Reggae Recipes for Sunshine and Soul.
From the book
Grill it with Levi: 101 Reggae Recipes for Sunshine and Soul
101 flavour-packed recipes from Levi Roots
Fresh and nutritious dishes with a Jamaican twist
Perfect your grilling skills with Levi's easy-to-follow steps
Introduction
This chilli and honey peach salad, with leaves and pecans, makes a great starter or side dish, especially when served alongside pork. It can be made up before your guests arrive and then simply dress when you are ready to serve.
Ingredients
| 15g | butter |
| 80g | pecan halves |
| 4tsp | soft dark brown sugar |
| 4 | ripe peaches |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 tbsp | Hot Reggae Reggae Sauce or hot chilli sauce |
| 3 1/2 tbsp | balsamic vinegar |
| 150g | watercress |
| 1 tbsp | white wine vinegar |
| 1 | red chilli, seeded and sliced |
| 1 tsp | clear honey |
| 1/2 tsp | grain mustard |
| 70 ml | extra-virgin olive oil |
| salt and pepper |
Essential kit
You will need a ridged griddle pan.
Method
Watch how to make Levi’s salad in our video tutorial:
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and add the pecans. Sauté for about 30 seconds, then add the brown sugar and stir while it melts and coats the nuts. Keep cooking until you can smell that the sugar has caramelized – it only takes seconds so be careful not to let it burn. Tip the pecans onto a plate and leave to cool.
Make the dressing by mixing together all the dressing ingredients except the oil. Gradually whisk in the oil. Set aside.
Halve and stone the peaches, then cut each half into 3 thick slices. Heat a ridged griddle pan until very hot. While it is heating up place the peaches in a bowl with the oil and hot sauce and turn them over with your hands to coat well. Griddle the peaches for about 40 seconds on each side, then sprinkle over the caster sugar and add the balsamic vinegar. The vinegar will splutter and reduce instantly. Transfer to a plate while you assemble the salad.
Put the watercress and pecans into a shallow bowl and toss with most of the dressing. Scatter the peaches among the leaves, drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.
