Pan-Seared Salmon… but the Salad was the Star!
Earlier this week, while persuing the Kitchn, I stumbled upon this recipe for Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad. I must have been craving greens that day, because immediately upon seeing the picture, the first thought to cross my mind was “MUST MAKE!!!” (you can also insert a drooly face here). So I popped over to Kim Severson’s site to get the recipe, and off to the store I went to procure the ingredients.
Since the dressing for the salad had lemon juice, I decided a pan-seared salmon would go nicely with the flavors (and it did!). The salad was really easy to throw together – just stem and chop the kale; whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and shred the ricotta salata. Toss it all together, and voila! you have your salad!
The salad was wonderful – so wonderful, in fact, that I could take or leave the salmon on the plate. Just give me more salad! However I didn’t over-indulge, going for a second helping of salad. Instead I put it in the fridge. The best part, when I had the left overs a couple of days later, they tasted just as fresh as the day I made the salad. So this recipe is a big winner in my book.
Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad
Recipe from www.kimseverson.com (originally from Gourmet)
Serves 4
1 bunch of Tuscan (lacinato) kale
1 big shallot, chopped fine
Juice of a good-sized lemon (preferably Meyer), about 2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1cup ricotta salata, coarsely shredded
Trim the leaves of the kale above where the stems become thick. Stack the leaves in a pile, roll them like a cigar, and slice it thin crosswise.
Whisk together the shallot, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oil. Go light on salt until you taste the salad. The ricotta can be salty.
Toss the dressing with the kale and ricotta salata, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.
