Prawns, apple and spinach

The combination of vegetables and fruit is not as unusual as you might think and may remind one of the 1980s, when it was fashionable to prepare salads with green apples or nuts. Indeed, it is a pleasantly fresh and light blend, perfect for starting a grand dinner or as a refreshing interlude in the middle of a feast of heavier and fattier dishes. Apple and spinach go together very well, and to this pleasant combination we have now added shrimp, making it equally light and now perfect as a starter to a fish supper. But be careful: when you buy the prawns, make sure they are fresh, and that their colour is vibrant and does not smell of ammonia.

Begin by cutting the pancetta into strips, which will be fried together in olive oil with the prawns and spinach, taking care, however, to keep the ingredients separate. The prawns are cooked first, then the spinach should be warmed through in the same pan but apart from the prawns; the bacon is cooked last, so as to absorb the taste of the sea left previously by the prawns. Then cut the apple into strips. Serve up the spinach with shrimps, apple, bacon, a pinch of salt and some balsamic vinegar reduced a little.