Harriet Leander’s Warm Fresh Cheese Salad 

Harriet was our food mother in The Blue Raincoat restaurant in Galway nearly 20 years ago. She is a master of combining food flavours and textures, just as in this salad. 

SERVES 4 

Ingredients:

4 rashers unsmoked bacon 

80ml Port 

salt and freshly ground black pepper 

150g fresh St Tola goats’ cheese 

1 head lollo rosso lettuce 

1 tablespoon good olive oil 

Method:

Fry the bacon rashers over a medium heat until crispy and then put to one side. Pour the fat from the frying pan into a small saucepan. 

Add the Port to the bacon fat and heat it gently until warm. 

Season with a little salt and pepper. 

Place the cheese in a bowl and pour the warm Port and bacon fat over the top. 

Shred the lettuce into a bowl, tear the cheese into small chunks, chop the crispy bacon into slivers and scatter both over the lettuce. 

Stir any remaining Port and bacon liquor into the olive oil and pour over the salad as a warm dressing. Serve immediately.