Insalata di rinforzo
A Neapolitan Christmas salad whose name means "reinforcement salad" — traditionally explained by the fact that it returns to the table throughout the holidays and, whenever it runs low, is reinforced with more ingredients. The base is cauliflower boiled very briefly, still firm, since soft florets would collapse over a few days in vinegar. The rest is the contents of the larder: olives, capers, pickled peppers and anchovies.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Cauliflower 15 min
- Assembly 15 min
- Marinating 720 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneBoil the cauliflower briefly in vinegar water
Bring the water to a boil with the vinegar and salt and cook the florets for just 6 minutes, until soft outside but clearly firm within. The vinegar keeps the cauliflower white and stops it greying in the marinade.
Ingredients: 1000 g cauliflower · 2000 ml water · 3 tbsp wine vinegar · 2 tsp salt
Six minutes — the centre must stay clearly firm.Drain and cool on a rack
Drain and spread the florets on a rack to cool and dry. Do not refresh in cold water — the cauliflower soaks it up and waters down the dressing. It must be completely dry before it meets the oil.
Ingredients: 1000 g cauliflower · 2000 ml water · 3 tbsp wine vinegar · 2 tsp salt
Rinse the capers and dry everything
Rinse the salt off the capers and pat all the pickled ingredients dry — olives, peppers, vegetables. Brine from their jars would dilute the dressing and give the salad a uniformly vinegary taste.
Ingredients: 120 g green olives · 120 g black olives · 3 tbsp capers · 200 g pickled peppers · 60 g anchovy fillets · 150 g pickled vegetables
Everything dried of brine — otherwise the dressing thins.Fold everything together gently
Combine the cauliflower with the olives, capers, peppers, pickled vegetables and torn anchovies and fold gently with your hands. Tear the anchovies rather than chopping — they partly dissolve into the dressing and season everything from within.
Ingredients: 120 g green olives · 120 g black olives · 3 tbsp capers · 200 g pickled peppers · 60 g anchovy fillets · 150 g pickled vegetables
Dress with oil and vinegar
Whisk the oil with the vinegar, oregano, pepper and chopped parsley and pour over the salad. Add no salt — the anchovies, capers and olives have brought a great deal already, and the flavour concentrates further overnight.
Ingredients: 100 ml olive oil · 3 tbsp wine vinegar · 1 tsp oregano · ½ tsp black pepper · 3 tbsp parsley
No salt — anchovies and capers give more than enough.Leave overnight, stir in the morning
Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, stirring once. The point is not just chilling but letting the flavours meld: the cauliflower must take up the vinegar and the saltiness, and a freshly built salad tastes like separate ingredients in a bowl.
Ingredients: 100 ml olive oil · 3 tbsp wine vinegar · 1 tsp oregano · ½ tsp black pepper · 3 tbsp parsley
Before you start
Why "reinforcement"
In Naples the salad returns to the table from Christmas Eve through the holidays, and whenever it runs low more olives, peppers or cauliflower go in. The vinegar lets it last several days, but keep it in the fridge between meals — do not leave it out longer than the meal itself.
The anchovies can go
A vegetarian version works well but needs something salty and savoury in their place: an extra spoonful of capers, or sun-dried tomatoes. Without anchovies the salad is simply sour, with no depth behind it.
A week in the fridge
In the fridge the salad keeps up to a week and improves daily as the vinegar penetrates the cauliflower fully. Store it under a layer of oil in a sealed box. Take it out half an hour before serving, since cold oil sets.
