Spring salad with watercress dressing

 

Ingredients

• 550g new potatoes, scrubbed
• 800g young broad beans in the pod (to give about 200g/8oz shelled beans)
• 200g fresh young asparagus
• 400g young peas in the pod (to give about 100g/4oz shelled peas)
• 90g pack prosciutto, sliced into ribbons
• 125g bag mixed salad leaves
• 100g pecorino cheese, shaved

For the dressing

• 50g fresh watercress, roughly chopped
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• pinch sugar
•  Ready in 35-40 minutes
  Easy
  Serves 4 
   

  Method

  1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and halve when cool enough to handle; set aside. Blanch the shelled broad beans and the asparagus in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain in a sieve and cool under running cold water. Drain again, fish out the asparagus, then peel off the hard outer skins from the beans – make a nick in the tops and pop the beans out. Blanch the shelled peas in a separate pan for 1 minute. Toss the asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes and prosciutto together.
  2. For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until really smooth and bright green. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, toss the salad leaves with a spoonful or two of dressing and arrange on plates. Pile the vegetable mixture on top, season, then drizzle over the remaining dressing and scatter with the pecorino.