The Neapolitan “reinforcement” salad is a very easy and tasty recipe, really flavorful. The main ingredient of this salad is cauliflower, which is combined with olives, pickles, “papaccelle” (small sweet pickled peppers) and salted anchovies. It is prepared for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as an appetizer at the dinner followed by other appetizers, usually based on fish.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year
Ingredients
- 2 white cauliflowers
- to taste green olives in brine
- to taste black olives
- 1.4 oz anchovies in oil
- 1 cup pickles
- 2 pickled papaccelle
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste fine salt
Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and cut it into florets. Wash it under running water and let it drain.
When the water comes to a boil, add the cauliflower florets, cover, and cook over high heat for 5 minutes.
Drain it immediately and let it cool.
In a large bowl, place the pitted and chopped green and black olives, the pickles (previously rinsed under plenty of running water and well-drained to remove excess acidity) also cut into cubes, the roughly chopped anchovies in oil, and the papaccelle in small slices (if you don’t have Neapolitan papaccelle, you can replace them with pickled peppers or simply grilled ones). Adjust with extra virgin olive oil and fine salt, without overdoing it, mix well, cover, and let it marinate for a few hours at room temperature or in the fridge, depending on your needs.
An extra idea. The reinforcement salad can also include a boiled and chopped black broccoli (in my area it’s called “Christmas broccoli”) and a finely chopped clove of garlic to add more color and flavor, just like my mother used to do. Unfortunately, however, not everyone likes them, and that’s why they are not included in my reinforcement salad ingredients.
