Since 1994, Mud Australia has created elegant and timeless porcelain homewares.
The original Mud Australia store opened in Woollahra in 2007. Since then we’ve opened 10 stores globally.
Book a design consultation with our experienced team or plan your own gift registry online.
Recipe by Danielle Alvarez
A good, creamy herb dressing paired with crisp, cold, crunchy salad leaves is one of my favourite combinations – an American steakhouse staple typically known as a “wedge” salad, using a wedge of iceberg lettuce with a dressing of either ranch or blue cheese. I like to think mine is a little lighter: heavy on the fresh herbs and omitting the blue cheese for something that complements the delicate spring vegetables better. The mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise ensures you have something that feels light on the tongue but rich enough to coat the leaves. For a truly American experience, add chopped crisp bacon, tomatoes and crumbled blue cheese in place of the peas and fennel.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Salad
½ cup (75 g) fresh peas (or frozen works fine)
3 heads little gem lettuce (or other crisp lettuce such as cos or iceberg), leaves separated
1 small head fennel, thinly sliced on a mandoline (or with a very sharp knife)
Buttermilk herb dressing
Scant ½ cup (100 g) sour cream
Scant ½ cup (100 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably homemade (page 109)
Juice of half a lemon, about 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 garlic clove, grated on a microplane
1 small French shallot, finely diced
Fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Method
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch your fresh peas for about 3 minutes. Strain and shock them in an ice bath as soon as they come out. If using frozen peas, simply thaw them before using (see note).
Wash your lettuce and dry it well, either using a salad spinner or laying the washed leaves out on clean tea towels and carefully wrapping them.
To make the dressing, add all the ingredients (except for salt and pepper) to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
To serve, arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter and top with the peas and sliced fennel. Finish by drizzling as much of the dressing as you like over the salad. Keep any excess dressing in the fridge for other uses (see serving suggestion).
Note: Frozen peas are flash steamed before freezing, consequently they don’t need to be cooked, just warmed quickly, to ensure they retain their colour and pop. Simplyplace the frozen peas in a strainer and hold them under warm running water.
Serving suggestions: This salad dressing recipe makes more than the salad requires but it holds well in the fridge for several days. It’s excellent to dip pizza into, or pizza crusts at least (hi, I’m American!), as well as crudit.s. It can be difficult to find buttermilk in small amounts, but any leftover buttermilk makes an excellent marinade for chicken or can be frozen to use another time.