SippitySup

This is neither a fruit salad nor a vegetable salad. It’s a hybrid. Both fruit and veg. At first read, a Strawberry Snap Pea Salad may seem like a culinary survivor of the strange salad days of the last century. Waldorf comes to mind as well as its sickly-sweet cousin Ambrosia. Oh, and Jell‑O salad. I don’t know what Betty Crocker was smoking all through the Atomic Age, but gastronomically speaking, her recipes seem shockingly artificial today. Canned tomatoes, held motionless in Jell‑O, concealing a coeur caché of pickled asparagus and frozen artichoke hearts? The spirited artifice of her combinations seem so foreign that we’re left to wonder: What on earth was going on?

Well, times have changed and so have our salads. Still, I can’t help but think that there’s some inspiration to be found in Betty’s Fonduloha (pineapple, turkey, mayonnaise, curry, peanuts, coconut, and canned mandarins, put back into a pineapple shell) and her Cherry Pineapple Bologna Salad (instant mashed potatoes, pineapple-glazed bologna, and maraschino cherries served on an iceberg wedge).

The key to updating a Betty Crocker recipe is to simply remove everything that’s lurid, Technicolor, and vulgar. What we’re left with is the idea that the partnering of unexpected ingredients is worth exploring. I hope we’ve all come to a point that unusual combinations make us open our mouths before we raise our eyebrows.

Strawberry Snap Pea Salad with Calabrian Chiles

Besides, it’s not the strawberries and snap peas that make this salad so unique it’s the dressing. Which isn’t so much a vinaigrette in the traditional sense as it is a rustically chopped relish made with oil-cured black olives and spicy Calabrian chiles from Southern Italy.

Very (very) good greengrocers or farmers markets may carry fresh Calabrian chiles. Pick them up if you see them, I’m sure you’ll enjoy their unique (though blazing hot) fruity flavor. However, I’ve forgone the fresh peppers in this recipe and chosen jarred Calabrian chiles packed in oil because our gal Betty would never use fresh if she could get her hands on something from a can or a bag or a box or a jar! GREG

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Strawberry and Snap Pea Salad with Calabrian Chile Relish 

By: Greg Henry

Print This Recipe Total time Yield 6Source Adapted from Moveable Feast with Fine CookingPublished June 11, 2016

I got a jar of seeded, chopped Calabrian chiles in oil at Williams-Sonoma.

Ingredients

• ½ cup pitted, chopped cured black olives
• 2 tablespoon seeded, chopped Calabrian chiles in oil (or more to taste)
• ⅓ cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for water)
• 6 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pound snap peas (halved crosswise on a bias)
• 2 cup sliced strawberries (about 12 oz or 1 pint)
• 12 fresh mint leaves (very thinly sliced crosswise)
• 4 ounce crumbled farmers cheese (such as queso fresco or or other fresh, mild skim milk cheese)
• ¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts
• 1 cup loosely packed baby arugula leaves
• sea salt (to taste)

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Directions

To make the relish: In a medium bowl mix olives, chiles, vinegar and salt. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified. Set aside. 

To prep the snap peas: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set up a large ice water bath.

Add the snap peas to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to the ice water bath until completely cooled. Drain and dry well.

To make the salad: Arrange snap peas on a large serving platter and scatter strawberries on top. Scoop several heaping tablespoons of the prepared Calabrian chile and olive relish on top. Make sure to distribute the chiles and olives evenly over the salad and include enough of the liquid to moderately dress the salad. Sprinkle with mint, farmers cheese, and pine nuts. Top with baby arugula leaves and season to taste with sea salt. Pass any leftover relish at the table.

The salad may be refrigerated for an hour before serving.