Tag: salad
Napa Cabbage Salad with Marcona Almonds and Paški Sir
Have a head of Napa Cabbage from your CSA or farm share box? Not sure what to do with it? Make this salad!
The leaves of the cabbage get softened with some salt and tossed with a sweet and tangy dressing. It is fresh and bright, crunchy and sweet. A perfect salad to accompany a light dinner.
The cabbage doesn’t take too long to soften up – only about 5 minutes. So make sure you have everything else ready to go so you can plate and serve the salad before it gets too soggy.
Paški Sir is a Croatian sheep’s milk cheese that is salty, savory and tangy. It is delicious shaved over this salad, but feel free to use Parmesan or a Pecorino in its place.
This salad is super easy to scale up or down. A full head of Napa Cabbage should make 4 plated salads. But if you are making this for less people, use about 4-5 leaves per person.
Napa Cabbage Salad with Marcona Almonds and Paški Sir
Makes 4 servings
- ½ cup Marcona Almonds (about .25 pound container)
- ½ tsp lemon zest (or any citrus you have on hand)
- 1 head Napa Cabbage, tough outer leaves removed
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning dressing
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Italian Cherry Blossom Honey
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup parsley leaves, torn
- 1 Tbsp sliced chives
- 3 oz. Paški Sir, shaved, plus more because more cheese is always better
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shake the plastic container of Marconas to redistribute the oil. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes until warmed and slightly golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle over the lemon zest and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
Remove the leaves from the cabbage core, tear off the tough white bottom, and tear into 3″– 4″ pieces. Add to a large bowl and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the leaves. Gently massage with your hands and set aside until ready to serve, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey and black pepper together. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and drizzle over the cabbage. Add the chives, parsely, shaved Paški Sir and the chopped Marconas and toss together.
Transfer salad to a platter or individual plates. Sprinkle on more cheese, chopped Marconas, salt and pepper and serve.
Salad Combo – Smokey Blue, Balsamic Onion and Apple
There are countless combinations that can be created with ingredients from the shelves of Aperitivo, and over the years, certain combinations have become favorites. Staff members have their go-to combo they recommend to customers, and customers have come back and shared amazing and delicious pairings they’ve put together at home.
Whether it’s for a salad, flatbread, pizza or nachos, certain ingredients just taste great together.
This salad combines smokey blue cheese, tangy cipollini onions, crisp and sweet apples and crunchy pumpkin seeds. It’s great for the fall, when Michigan apples are at their peak. You don’t really need a recipe for this salad, just use your best judgment. Making it for one person? Use a small piece of cheese and only part of the apple. Making it for a crowd? Use a bigger piece of cheese and a big apple. You get the picture.
Rogue Smokey Blue, Balsamic Cipollini Onion, Apple and Pumpkin Seed Salad
- Small tub Balsamic Cipollini onions, quartered
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Mixed greens
- 1 piece Rogue Smokey Blue, crumbled by hand
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, cored and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- A handful, toasted pumpkin seeds
- Salt and pepper
In a bowl, pour in a nice splash of the liquid from the onions. Drizzle in the same amount of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and whisk until combined.
Add the mixed greens to the bowl and toss until they are lightly coated in the dressing. Transfer to serving dish.
Top dressed greens with crumbled pieces of cheese, chopped apples and toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve and enjoy.
Burrata, Tangerine, Fennel and Olive Salad
The classic Spanish combination of oranges and olives is delicious both in a glass (see the Aperitivo bar favorite, Barcelona Vermut) and on a plate.
Calling this dish a “salad” feels a bit generous. The mix of creamy burrata and sweet, juicy tangerines creates a slight resemblance to an orange creamsicle. So if eating a salad seems no fun, try one that tastes like dessert!
The olives from the Taberna mix are great in this salad, but if you are partial to the lemony, bright green Castelvetrano olives, feel free to use those instead. They just need to be pitted before chopping.
Burrata, Tangerine, Fennel and Olive Salad
- ½ medium head or 1 small head of fennel
- ¼ cup sherry vinegar
- 2 tangerines or small oranges
- .25 pound Taberna olives or Castelvetrano olives
- 1 bunch watercress – thick stems removed
- ¼ cup good quality EVOO, plus more for drizzling
- Crunchy salt and pepper
- One 4 oz package Di Stefano burrata
- Parsley, chopped
Core and thinly slice the fennel bulb – you should have about 1 cup. Reserve a few fennel fronds to garnish the salad. Place the sliced fennel in a large bowl with the vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Peel the tangerines and slice into rounds and place in the bowl with fennel.
Quarter the olives and place in the bowl with fennel and tangerines. Stir in ¼ cup of olive oil and season with crunchy salt and pepper.
On a large platter or shallow bowl, scatter the watercress. Scatter the fennel, tangerine and olive mixture over the watercress. Place the burrata in the center of the platter and drizzle the cheese with olive oil, crunchy salt and pepper. Sprinkle the reserved fennel fronds and chopped parsley over the salad.
Serve by slicing into the burrata and scooping up the rest of the salad components.
(Alternately, you can tear the burrata and scatter over the rest of the salad.)
Creamy Panzanella Salad
Fresh and bright, crunchy and packing a salty bite, Panzanella Salad is the perfect summer dish. Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad made up of tomatoes and stale bread. The Aperitivo version includes a creamy goat cheese for an added level of richness. Have a few tomatoes that aren’t going to win any beauty contests? Use them up here! Those tend to be the most flavorful!
CHEVOO is a brand of marinated goat cheese made by Aussies transplants in California. Any of their magical flavor combinations would work in this salad, but the Smoked Salt and Rosemary is our favorite!
This salad gets multiple of layers of saltiness from the anchovies, the marinated goat cheese, and the extra virgin olive oil from the CHEVOO jar. So be sure to taste before adding additional salt.
Creamy Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound assorted heirloom tomatoes – different colors will make the salad pop
- 1 medium-sized cucumber
- 1 medium pepper – any color
- 1 loaf bread – Our favorite is the Levain from field&fire
- Assorted fresh herbs – thyme, basil, chives
- 1 jar CHEVOO Smoked Salt and Rosemary marinated goat cheese – cheese and oil separated
- 2 fillets Ortiz Anchovies
- 1 tbsp Beaufor Whole Grain Mustard
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the bread – Cut the loaf into bite-sized cubes, discarding some of the harder pieces of the outer crust. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil from the CHEVOO jar and toast in a 350℉ oven for about 10 minutes, until dry and golden. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare the vegetables – Peel the cucumber, slice in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tomatoes into chunks, discarding seeds if desired. Seed and chop the pepper into bite-sized pieces. Mix into the bowl with the bread and add the chopped fresh herbs, saving a few to garnish at the end.
- Mix the vinaigrette – Break up the anchovy fillets with your fingers and add to a small bowl. Whisk in the mustard, vinegar and 3 tablespoons of the oil from the CHEVOO jar until smooth. Add a few cracks of black pepper to taste. (You can also puree this in a blender to better break up the anchovies.)
- Pour the vinaigrette over the tomato and bread mixture, making sure to get the bread fully saturated. Break up the pieces of cheese with your fingers and drop onto the bowl and gently fold in. The cheese will melt into the salad, adding a creamy and salty bite. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.
- Let sit for a few minutes to let all the flavors meld together, then serve.