for every season, a salad. this one, brimming with all manner of things crunchy and fresh, is my choice for fall. i discovered it while flipping through urban italian, trying desperately to talk myself out of beelining for citrus tiramisu. andrew carmellini calls it "fall insalata"--a man who agrees with my theory on seasons and salads and does so in italian! i scanned over the ingredients: tart apples (yum), plump raisins (yum), fennel (yum), salty slivers of parmesan (yum), toasty marcona almonds and breadcrumbs (yum), torn basil (yum). i concluded YUM and got to work. a great salad requires attention. carefully select your ingredients, treat them kindly, and go easy on the dressing (you can always add more later but rescuing an overdressed salad is as easy as unsalting your stock). your diligence will be repaid in the form of a salad that barely makes it to the plate. i ate half of it straight out of a battered stainless steel mixing bowl and it fully exceeded my expectations of yum. buon appetito.
apple & fennel salad with greens, marcona almonds & parmesan
(serves 6 as a starter)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 lemon, finely zested and juiced
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or fresh breadcrumbs)
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
8 ounces arugula
8 ounces watercress
10 basil leaves, torn
1 sweet-tart apple, such as honeycrisp or fuji, cored and sliced into thin slivers
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced into thin slivers
1 celery stalk, sliced into thin slivers
1/2 cup marcona almonds, roasted and salted
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese (use a vegetable peeler)
sea salt & cracked black pepper
soak the raisins in 1 cup boiling water for 20-30 minutes to reconstitute. drain and dry on paper towels.
make the salad dressing: whisk together the lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl. slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil while whisking, to emulsify.
make the breadcrumbs: heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. add the breadcrumbs and thyme and toast until golden, 5-10 minutes. remove to a plate to cool.
combine the arugula, watercress, torn basil, raisins, apples, fennel, celery, and marcona almonds in a large salad bowl. drizzle a bit of the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. add more dressing if needed to lightly coat the contents. add salt and pepper to taste. plate individual salads and top each with slivers of parmesan and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs.
notes
* this recipe was barely adapted from andrew carmellini's recipe in his book urban italian
* you will have leftover breadcrumbs--they will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge or even longer in the freezer
* if you cannot find marcona almonds, walnuts, pecans, or pine nuts work well