Summer fruit and goat’s cheese salad with Henry Hogz Raspberry Sour vinaigrette

Summer is in full swing. Cricket, Wimbledon, strawberries and cream, picnics on the beach and if you are lucky, the chance to enjoy a refreshing pint in a pub garden. I’m a recent convert to both fruit in salad and beers, and today’s recipe includes both. I was fascinated to learn that fruit has been added to beer for thousands of years. The Egyptians added dates and pomegranates to their brews.

One of my favourite producers of contemporary fruit flavoured beers, with some highly individual names to boot, is Brew York, founded in 2016. The two partners experiment with a wide range of flavours and produce around 20 beers at any time. They make a delicious blueberry, milk sugar and vanilla sour called Katy Berry, see what I mean about the names, and my choice Henry Hogz Raspberry Sour. As the honey-roasted peaches and strawberries add a whole load of sweetness to the recipe, the sour flavours in the beer vinaigrette make a welcome contrast.

Vinaigrette is usually a mixture of oil and lemon juice, or vinegar, herbs, spices, and seasoning used as a simple salad dressing or marinade. The ingredients are whisked or shaken together forming a basic emulsion. Brute force temporarily bonds the oil and liquid together to form a silky-smooth dressing. You will find this will soon start to split and form two distinct layers, so the trick is to add an emulsifier, a sort of food glue. The most common emulsifier in vinaigrette is mustard.

Summer fruit and goat cheese salad with Henry Hogz Raspberry Sour vinaigrette

(Serves 2)

You won’t need a lot of the beer, but don’t worry as it makes a perfect foil served with the salad. Or you can scale up the recipe and keep the dressing in a sterilised jam jar in your fridge.

Large handful of mixed salad leaves per person, washed and dried

100g creamy goat cheese

2 ripe peaches, quartered

8 ripe strawberries

¼ fresh cucumber, halved and sliced

6 mixed radishes, washed

100ml quality olive oil

3tbs Henry Hogz Raspberry Sour

2tbs runny honey

1tbs Dijon mustard

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the peach slices onto an ovenproof tray, drizzle with one tablespoon of the honey and season generously. Place under a medium-hot grill for three minutes. Carefully remove the tray, turn the peaches over and spoon over any juices. Return to the grill for a couple more minutes. Remove from the grill and allow to cool.

Place the mustard, remaining honey and beer in a medium-sized bowl and slowly whisk in the oil. If it is a little thick, add a tablespoon of freshly boiled water. Check the seasoning.

Hull the strawberries and halve or quarter depending on their size. If you have mixed radishes, quarter the longer ones, and finely slice any round ones.

To serve, mix a little of the dressing with salad leaves and place them into two bowls. Casually arrange the cooled peaches, cucumber, radish, and cucumbers. Spoon on the goat cheese and a little extra dressing. Finish with a good grind of black pepper and serve.