Heads up: A 10-minute Whole30 summer meal comin’ your way: Watercress Salad with Peaches and Prosciutto! This fresh and healthy salad is summer on a plate!
A Restaurant Favorite At Home!
Prosciutto-wrapped peaches on a bed of bitter greens is a classic Italian starter that I used to order every time I spotted it on a summer menu…’til it finally dawned on me that this dead-simple recipe can be made at home for pennies on the dollar. Yeah, I can be dense sometimes. It took this old dog a decade to learn this peachy new trick, but hey: better late than never, right?
Once ripe peaches made their first appearance of the year at the local farmers’ market, I started making this savory, sweet, and assertive summer salad on a regular basis. Can you blame me? I mean, the hardest part is just wrapping prosciutto around peach slices!
Seared Peaches are better than Grilled Peaches!
Most recipes call for grilling the porky peaches, but I’ve found that searing ’em in a skillet is a much easier and faster method. In fact, it takes longer to fire up the barbecue than it does to prepare and eat this gorgeous hot-weather salad using a skillet.
Watercress Salad!
In my version of this classic dish, I also replaced the usual bed of arugula with watercress. Both types of greens add a pleasing bitter bite to this salad, but watercress is the new Queen Bee of the vegetable aisle (that’s right: move over, kale), and I’ve been doing my darnedest to incorporate this nutrient-packed powerhouse into my diet. Plus, the warm peaches wilt the watercress slightly, making each mouthful a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures.
What can you use in place of prosciutto?
If you can’t find prosciutto at the market, you can sear the peaches without wrapping them with anything. Bacon slices are too thick and won’t crisp up before the peaches get overcooked. I prefer to fry up chopped up bacon bits and add them to the salad if I still want some salty porky goodness. Don’t eat pork? Crumble on some crispy Chicken Cracklings!
Let’s make Watercress Salad With Peaches and Prosciutto!
Serves 1 as an entree or 2 as an appetizer
Ingredients:
- 2 cups watercress, thin stems and leaves only
- 1 ripe (but still firm) peach
- 6 thin slices prosciutto (I like La Quercia brand)
- 1 teaspoon ghee or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon shelled dry-roasted and salted pistachios
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
Grab a big bunch of watercress and pick off the tender leaves and thin stems until you have 2 cups of salad greens. (Reserve the rest to add to soup. Like Simple Egg Drop Soup!)
Wash and spin dry the greens before dumping ’em on a plate.
Slice your peach in half, remove the pit, and divide each half into thirds to get six slices. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each wedge of fruit.
The prosciutto should be coiled flat and tight around the peach slice.
While you’re preparing the peaches, heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Add the ghee or avocado oil, and swirl to coat the pan. When the pan is hot, lay the peaches on one side and cook for about a minute or until browned. Then, flip each wedge over onto its other flat side, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
When the peaches are browned on both sides, flip them peach-skin side down. and brown the bottom for 30-60 seconds.
Place the hot peaches on the bed of watercress. Chop up the pistachios and sprinkle on top of the salad.
Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste, and top with freshly cracked black pepper.
[Originally posted on July 9, 2018. Updated with new details and photos on June 28, 2020.]
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Watercress Salad With Peaches and Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 2 cups watercress thin stems and leaves only
- 1 ripe but still firm peach
- 6 thin slices prosciutto I like La Quercia brand
- 1 teaspoon ghee or avocado or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon shelled dry-roasted and salted pistachios
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Grab a big bunch of watercress and pick off the tender leaves and thin stems until you have 2 cups of salad greens. (Reserve the rest to add to soup. Like Simple Egg Drop Soup!) Wash and spin dry the greens before dumping ’em on a plate.
- Slice your peach in half, remove the pit, and divide each half into thirds to get six slices. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each wedge of fruit. The prosciutto should be coiled flat and tight around the peach slice.
- While you’re preparing the peaches, heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Add the ghee or avocado oil, and swirl to coat the pan. When the pan is hot, lay the peaches on one side and cook for about a minute or until browned. Then, flip each wedge over onto its other flat side, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
- When the peaches are browned on both sides, flip them peach-skin side down. and brown the bottom for 30-60 seconds.
- Place the hot peaches on the bed of watercress. Chop up the pistachios and sprinkle on top of the salad.
- Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste, and top with freshly cracked black pepper.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious, thank you!
Saw this recipe yesterday morning and used it as an appetizer for a dinner party last night. The only thing I did differently was to make a sweetened balsamic reduction to drizzle over the top. It was easy, fast, simply scrumptious and completely devoured. Many thanks!