In the height of summer, nothing beats an Italian style salad with an ice cold tipple. And there is nothing quite like thin slices of Parma Ham on the taste bud. The curing is controlled carefully so that the ham absorbs only enough salt to preserve it and to retain its distinctive sweet flavour.

Prosciutto di Parma, is produced in the hills surrounding the Italian town of Parma. The air in the Parmesan hills is unique, dry and sweet-smelling with breezes from the Apennine mountains, creating perfect environmental conditions for a natural ‘drying” of the hams.

For more information on Parma Ham, please visit here.

Parma Ham, Strawberry, Mozzarella and Walnut Summer Salad, Dressed with Kiwi-Lime Vinaigrette

Serves 4

For the salad:

300g/10 1⁄2 oz strawberries, quartered
125g/4 1⁄2 oz ball Buffalo mozzarella
50g / 2oz walnut halves, hand crushed
one handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
salt and cracked black pepper
4-8 slices of Parma Ham

For the dressing:

2 kiwi fruit, skinned
zest and juice of half a lime
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Method:

1. First make the dressing. Puree the kiwi fruit and sieve to remove the seeds. Whisk together the kiwi puree, lime zest and juice, honey, olive oil and vinegar, and season to taste
2. Arrange the strawberries and mozzarella on four serving plates, scatter over the walnuts and basil leaves and drizzle over some of the kiwi-lime dressing
3. Arrange 1-2 slices of Parma Ham on top of the salad and serve

Cook’s Tip: Add a little more honey to the kiwi-lime dressing if it is too sharp. The dressing can be made well in advance, but make sure that you serve the salad as soon as the fruit has been prepared