Neil Perry's dressed-up Mediterranean salads

Fresh mozzarella, farro and cherry tomato salad

1 cup farro

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large ball fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, drained and roughly torn

1 punnet vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup combined fresh parsley, marjoram and chives, finely chopped

Serves 2 or 4 as a shared dish

METHOD

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add farro and salt to taste, then simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.

While farro is cooking, make dressing. Whisk lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl and add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Combine farro, tomatoes, herbs and dressing and serve on a large serving dish or four small plates, with torn mozzarella cheese placed on top.

Sicilian caponata

2 medium eggplants, cut into 2cm dice

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil, for frying

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large brown onion, roughly chopped

4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

5 celery stalks, stringed and cut into

2cm dice

2 tbsp small salted capers, rinsed thoroughly in cold water

1/4 cup green olives, pitted and quartered

400g tin crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Serves 2 or 4 as a shared dish

METHOD

Sprinkle eggplant with salt and leave for 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse off the juices. Dry with paper towel.

Pour enough olive oil in a frying pan to reach 2cm up the sides. When it is hot and just about to start smoking, add eggplant and fry until coloured and soft (about 5 minutes) - you can do this in two batches. Drain eggplant on paper towel.

Drain oil from the pan and add 3 tbsp of fresh extra virgin olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until soft, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add celery and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Return eggplant to pan then add capers and olives and toss together. Pour in the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and basil. Cook over low heat for 8 minutes.

Caponata can be served straight away or refrigerated to allow the flavours to combine further.

HOT TIPS

• Boiled farro is an awesome component of many salads. It also makes great tabouli.

• The mozzarella can be small and served whole, or large and torn. You can also use burrata – it's even creamier.

• Caponata can be served on bruschetta or with salad leaves, and it's also perfect as a side with roasted chicken, pork or beef.

• The sweet and sour nature of caponata lends itself to other vegetables: use fennel, artichoke or zucchini instead of the eggplant, or a combination of any of them.

SOMETHING TO DRINK

Cortese
Wines made with the cortese grape are vibrant and crisp, with aromas of green apple, ripe pear and zesty lime. Continue the Italian flavour of the farro salad with a 2011 Stefano Massone Gavi (about $30), which hails from the Piedmont region in north-west Italy.

Photography by William Meppem. Styling by Hannah Meppem. Food preparation by Dominic Smith.