When you eat a salad at a nice restaurant, it tastes amazing. But when you make one for yourself for lunch on a random Saturday, it can be kind of sad. That's why we tapped Adin Langille, executive chef of the recently opened New York City restaurant David Burke Fabrick—which has the type of salads you dream about at night for weeks afterward—to share some of his secrets. Learn from them to take your own salads up a notch, and if you're feeling extra-ambitious, use the recipes he's shared to recreate some of his best veggie-based dishes at home.
MORE: 9 Genius Tips to Make At-Home Salads Taste So Much More Amazing
Infuse Your Own Oil
The burrata salad at Fabrick is kind of like the Inception equivalent of salad: It's a recipe within a recipe within a recipe. Don't let that scare you off, though. Making your own infused oil—and then using that to make a flavorful quinoa salad—isn't hard. It does require a little prep work—but once you taste the difference, you'll never go back to boring old salads again.
Burrata Salad
1/2 small watermelon, cut into rectangular pieces
5 baby beets, roasted and peeled
1 bunch asparagus, blanched
1 tomato, sliced
6 thin slices of prosciutto
1 cup basil quinoa salad (recipe below)
3 balls of burrata cheese, cut in half
1/2 tsp espelette pepper or ground chili powder
2 Tbsp basil oil (recipe below)
Arrange all ingredients playfully, and garnish with basil oil and shaved* raw beets.
Basil-Quinoa Salad
2 cups water
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 cup white quinoa
2 Tbsp basil oil (recipe below)
Salt and pepper
1. Heat water and salt in a small pot until it boils. Add quinoa slowly, and stir until water starts to simmer. Reduce heat to low, and cover.
2. Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until quinoa pops and becomes tender. Cool, and fluff with a fork.
3. Toss with basil oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Basil Oil
3 bunches basil, picked and cleaned
2 cups olive oil
Place basil and oil in a blender, and puree on high until mixture begins to steam and separate. Strain through a cheesecloth (it's available in many grocery stores or at cooking supply stores).
*You can use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to shave veggies, which just means making thin slices of them.
MORE: 10 3-Minute DIY Salad Dressings You'll LOVE
Mix Multiple Lettuces
At home, you probably stick with romaine or kale and use that as your lettuce base. But switching up your leafy greens makes for a better salad right from the start. This one from chef Langille combines kale and escarole, then tops them with carrots, fennel, beets, and dressing.
Kale and Escarole Salad
1 bunch kale, washed, dried, and cut into 1" pieces
2 heads escarole, washed, dried, and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup baby heirloom carrots*, shaved**
1 cup baby fennel, shaved**
1 cup baby beets, shaved**
1/2 cup white balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, and dress until all leaves are coated but not dripping. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
White Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients except the oil in a mixing bowl, and whisk together. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture to form an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*You can use regular baby carrots if you can't find heirloom.
**You can use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to shave veggies, which just means making thin slices of them.
MORE: How Many Leafy Greens Can You ID Correctly?
Be Picky with Your Ingredients
Rather than making his market salad with just any type of goat cheese, chef Langille uses triple crème goat cheese because of its luscious texture. Similarly, he uses heirloom cherry tomatoes instead of the regular kind you find in the supermarket. Of course, you can substitute in any type of goat cheese or tomatoes in a pinch—but to really take the flavor up a notch, it helps to use premium and sometimes a little out-of-the-ordinary ingredients.
Market Salad
1 bunch romaine, washed, dried, and cut into 1" pieces
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, picked, washed, and dried
1 small bag baby spinach, de-stemmed, washed, and dried
1 cup white balsamic vinaigrette (see recipe on previous page)
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray
2 cups potato, diced
2 cups bacon, cut into small chunks
2 pieces triple crème goat cheese (soft creamy cheese with bloomy rind)
2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes*, halved
1 cup white button mushroom, washed, dried, and shaved**
1. Toss all greens in a mixing bowl with vinaigrette, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spray a pan with cooking spray, then pan-fry diced potatoes over medium heat until tender throughout, about 8 minutes. Throw in bacon, and cook until heated through.
3. Cut goat cheese into bite-sized pieces. Place greens on a plate, then top with goat cheese and tomato. Finish with bacon and potato mixture, and add shaved fresh mushrooms on top.
*You can use regular cherry tomatoes if you can't find heirloom.
**You can use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to shave veggies, which just means making thin slices of them.
All recipes adapted from Adin Langille, executive chef of New York City's David Burke Fabrick.
MORE: 8 Ways to OWN Your Next Trip to the Farmer's Market
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