Super simple and extremely tasty, this salad has it all but with only a few ingredients.  Wow your friends at your next BBQ with this little gem or pair it with a leg of lamb and some roast spuds……..works a treat every time, my friends!

Prep time:     5-10 minutes                          Cooking time:     15 minutes                        $ Low Budget

Serves 4-6

1 bag of mesclun mix or any kind of mixed lettuce that you like

6 slices of pancetta

1 punnet of assorted baby tomatoes, sliced however you like eg halved or quartered depending on size

50 gm of goats cheese or feta, crumbled

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 cup of aged balsamic vinegar (or add 1 tsp of castor sugar if you only have the normal brand)*

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Pre heat the oven to 200°C.   Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay the pancetta slices out flat.  bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden and crunchy.  You can generally tell when it is ready by the gorgeous smell permeating the kitchen.  Remove it from the oven and allow to cool.

Pop the leaves in a large salad bowl (wash if necessary) and scatter over the sliced tomatoes.  Crumble the cooled pancetta in your hands, making sure that you lick all the left over bits stuck to your fingers…….mmmmmm too good to wash down the sink.  Crumble over the goats cheese and repeat the last step.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic (and sugar) in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify.  Drizzle the dressing over the salad and season with a little salt and pepper.   Serve…..