Question of the day: What is your cooking style?
Like, when you step into the kitchen, where does your mind instinctually go?
For me, it's rustic cooking.
Like roasted chicken, crusty garlic bread, classic salads, roasted potatoes, and simply prepared vegetables.
Those salty savory flavors, traditional cooking methods, and the homestyle feel.... it's perfection to me!
So when I created this salad, I just tried to let things flow.
Right out of my mind and into my tummy. (yay!)
I found a really cool new product by Earthbound Farms that inspired the whole thing. Spicy Spinach Flavor Blends. It's a mix of baby spinach and asian greens (pak-choi, mizuna, komatsuna, baby tatsoi). The asian greens have a slightly spicy bitter flavor that pairs great with savory ingredients.
Salty prosciutto, savory sautéed mushrooms, sweet and juicy pops of tomato, and rich gruyere cheese. All classics that play off each other to make each bite of this salad REALLY REALLY good.
But I have to say... I'm not a huge fan of raw prosciutto in salad.
It's chewy and tends to clump up all together in a weird blobby bite.
You know what is awesome though? Crispy prosciutto.
Just a quick cook in a skillet crisps the thin pieces of meat into little crispy pieces of flavor. Like meat croutons.
Yep, meat croutons.
Don't skip this step. It's so good.
And of course, never skip the grilled bread.
Choose nice and dense chewy bread, like a tuscan variety. Slice it nice and thick, slather with olive oil, and grill until it has some char on it. Season with some kosher salt & pepper and enjoy. The smokiness and satisfying chew makes this salad a meal.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4.5 oz Spicy Spinach Flavor Blends (by Earthbound Farm)
- 2 oz baby arugula
- 3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
- 16 oz sliced white button mushrooms
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- Generous sprinkle of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup shaved Gruyere cheese
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for sautéing and grilling
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- Thick slices of dense french bread
Instructions
- Place the spicy greens and arugula in a large salad bowl and toss to combine. Set aside for now.
- Rip the prosciutto into bite-sized pieces and put in a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring and turning the pieces of prosciutto until they start to brown and crisp up. When the pieces look cooked (but not burnt), remove them from the pan to a large plate. Let cool & set aside. They will continue to get crispier as they cool.
- Next, add the mushrooms to a large nonstick skillet. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes or until nice and golden. In the last minute of cooking, add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant. Turn off the heat, season with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and set aside.
- Add your cherry tomatoes to a small oven proof skillet or dish. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and broil under high heat for just a few minutes, until the tomatoes are plump and starting to burst. Remove from the broiler and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup olive oil, minced shallot, balsamic vinegar, and minced thyme. Set aside.
- Finally, heat a grill pan over high heat or light the broiler on high. Brush each piece of bread generously on both sides with olive oil (I love my silicone brushes from amazon for this purpose). Grill or broil until nicely charred on both sides. Season with a light sprinkling of kosher salt and cracked black pepper.
- When you’re ready to eat, add the blistered tomatoes, mushrooms, crispy prosciutto pieces, and Gruyere cheese to the large salad bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine. Enjoy immediately with grilled bread on the side.
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