Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Summer feels like it's here, with the sun and wind doing its best to dry everything out, making frequent watering of the garden an essential task. Adding fresh fruits to savoury salads works well on hot days, as often after work we don't feel like cooking much and just want something light and tasty.

This week I thought I would use pineapple again as a background flavour, along with the fresh taste of strawberries. The other ingredients that meld well for this salad are Basecamp's wild smoked venison salami and halloumi, both of which are pan-fried and added to the salad at the last minute. Pan-frying cured meats is a sure-fire way to intensify the flavour; try it with the leftover ham from Christmas.

As we are adding some warm ingredients to this salad it's important to have the right lettuce. Iceberg wins as its crunchiness adds the right texture.

The construction of a salad should always be done just before it's

served. Freshness is the key. Assemble all your ingredients and build your salad straight on to the plate, rather than having it in a bowl.

Warm salad of peppered venison salami, halloumi and strawberries with pineapple and mango dressing

INGREDIENTS (serves four)

1 chip strawberries, halved and stalks removed

12-15 slices base camp pepperoni salami

150 grams of halloumi cheese, sliced

A few small leaves of chopped mint

1 tin mango cheeks

½ pineapple, peeled and chopped

2T balsamic vinegar

3T olive oil

Iceberg lettuce, broken into pieces

Mesclun mix leaves

METHOD

Blend together the drained tin of mango cheeks and the half pineapple. Keep some as is. Add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing. In a non-stick pan fry the slices of salami with a dash of olive oil. Remove when nice and crispy and cut into strips.

Now fry the halloumi in the same pan until browned and stretchy. Sprinkle with chopped mint. Assemble the salad on top of dabs of bright yellow mango pineapple purée. Mingle with cut strawberries and dabs of balsamic dressing, layered lettuce leaves and strips of salami and halloumi. The peppercorns and the smokiness of the crisp salami bring out the flavour of the fresh strawberries, and the halloumi with the pineapple mango dressing adds a summery tropical feel.