Looking to travel to Ireland, but don’t have the resources to do so? Transport yourself to the Emerald Isle by checking out the cookbook A Return to Ireland: A Culinary Journey from America to Ireland from renowned Irish chef Judith McLoughlin. From hearty Irish staples to classic comfort foods and so much more, like her summer salad recipe below utilizing a bounty of summer produce, it only takes a taste to bring you across the sea.
My family, like many Irish families, grew greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers that we always enjoyed by making soups and salads in the summer months. When I moved to the United States, I was introduced to the concept of adding the delicious flavors of peaches and watermelon to the Irish classic summer cucumber and tomato salads I knew so well, and I just love the addition of those fresh extra flavors.
One of my favorite summer road trips is to drive to the farms of South Georgia to buy watermelons and peaches to make this salad a true celebration of summer’s bounty.
Southern Summer Solstice Salad
Serves 6
Dressing Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon juice with zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/3 cup of shallots (minced)
5 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
12 mint leaves (chopped)
Salad Ingredients
1 pound of peaches (peeled and sliced in wedges)
1 pound heirloom tomatoes (cut into 1-inch chunks)
1 cucumber (skin removed, halved lengthwise and sliced)
1 pound watermelon (skin remove and sliced in cubes)
12 basil leaves (torn)
4 ounces feta cheese (crumbled)
Directions
- In a bowl, whisk together the shallots, lemon juice and zest and the white wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow and steady stream. Stir in the mint and season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- Prepare the cucumbers and toss them in with half of the lemon and mint vinegar dressing.
- Slice the peaches, tomatoes and watermelon and toss them in the remaining lemon vinegar dressing.
- To assemble the salad, combine the peaches, tomatoes, and the cucumber on a large platter. Sprinkle over the feta cheese, and then the basil.
Judith McLoughlin is an Irish chef and owner of a gourmet food business in Georgia called The Shamrock and Peach. Specializing in Irish cuisine, Judith has created her own unique food fusion by blending the techniques of her homeland with the newfound flavors of the South. Growing up in County Armagh in Northern Ireland and setting down roots in the South, over the past decade Judith has become one of the most recognized Irish faces and brands in Atlanta, throughout the American South and abroad. She regularly contributes to food columns in national newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic and leads numerous discovery tours from the U.S. to Ireland each year. Before A Return to Ireland, she published a cookbook entitled The Shamrock and Peach.
