Smooth Oberräder!

Insalata Mista con Carote Rossi e Ricotta alle Erbe

Salad Mix with Purple Carrots & Herb Ricotta

This beautiful salad is a local mix, sold here at the Frankfurt market hall, grown in nearby Oberrad... but please don't ask me the names of those individual leaves! The vendors there didn't know either- but all that I know is that they were very, very tasty! Oh- and btw... the name translates to : "Rabbit-feed from Oberrad" ;-)

This was a selection of particularly robust, peppery and earthy leaves and they went really well the purple carrots! With a honey/ricotta/olive oil dressing, this was a refreshing treat on a grey and humid day! Come to think of it- it would taste great even on a Sunny day :-D

The other fun ingredients here were the aformentioned purple carrots- and these ARE earthy tasting. Obviously, when sliced so thinly, 1 carrot goes a long way! Drop the thinly sliced carrot into boiling water for 1 minute- just long enough to soften the structure slightly.

Arrange the ingredients evenly and not too densely, so that you have space to add that creamy ricotta in a few minutes- because the ricotta is what is going to both highlight and also bring all of this together.

For the creamy ricotta, pop it into a regular foodmixer or use an electric whisk for 4-5 minutes until it is really creamy and light. Add finely chopped chives, parsley and a little mint and little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and keep things simple- the salad is already crazy enough!

Season the salad and ricotta with rock salt, sprinkle with a few more chives and then drizzle with olive oil and honey. The herbs mixed in the ricotta will make for a wonderful and lush dressing... go ahead and leave it simple for a change! And yes indeed... enjoy!