Jazzed-Up Insalata Tricolore

I realize this is my second salad post in a row, but it is hot as hades in New York and frankly light summer food is the only thing I can think about making or eating. This salad is a variation of the Insalata Di Foccacia that I used to eat at I Tre Merli, an Italian restaurant I worked at for several years. Last year I was craving the salad and tried to recreate it to only find out that I liked my version more (Sorry Paolo). What I think I did was merge the Insalata Tricolore with the Insalata Di Foccacia.

For extra protein/flavor you can add shaved parmesan or halved boccini mozzarella. As is, this salad is vegan, vegetarian and hearty enough to be sufficient as lunch or a light dinner. If you are feeling fancy you can even make your own foccacia croutons, although I find the store bought Italian seasoned croutons good enough. I douse my salad with balsamic vinegar, but since I realize not everyone may like vinegar as much as I do, I have modified the dressing so that you don’t end up with a permanent pucker.

Ingredients:

1 package of pre-washed baby arugula or 3 cups of baby arugula washed, rinsed and dried

2 endives halved and sliced into ½ inch pieces

1 small radicchio sliced into one inch pieces

2 ripe tomatoes cut into one inch pieces

6-8 large basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced

1 cup Italian croutons or Foccacia croutons

½ cup toasted pignoli nuts a.ka. pine nuts (see note and picture below)

2 Tbs capers (more if you love capers like I do)

3 Tbs good quality balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste (go easy on the salt and add more if needed later. Capers are pretty briny).

Directions:

Toss everything into a large bowl, add the dressing and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

The nice thing about this salad is that the arugula, radicchio and endive stand up to the dressing and it won't get soggy as quickly as other salads. What I really like is when the croutons get soaked in the balsamic. Sometimes I just pick at the balsamic doused croutons and leave the rest for my husband. Yum!

Note: Toast the pine nuts lightly over medium heat in a small frying or saute pan until they have reached the color below. No oil is needed and make sure they do not burn! Check ethnic stores for pine nuts since they tend to be cheaper than the ones you find at gourmet shops.

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.

Buon Appetito!

Perfect Greek Salad

Greek food is the perfect example of why less is more and why the quality of the ingredients makes all the difference in the world. Last week after watching an episode of “The Best thing I Ever Ate,” my husband asked me what my favorite dish was, and the things that came to mind were sea urchin, octopus, tomatoes and fondue. It was an interesting exercise in self-examination, because I realized that my favorite dishes are often the simplest. One of my other favorite things to eat is a Greek salad. Not the one you get at diners or your average Greek restaurant, but the one they serve in Greece. The simple one, the one without radishes, anchovies, dolmades or lettuce. Yes, lettuce, you heard me correctly, there is NO Lettuce in a Greek salad.

Now don’t get me wrong, Greeks like lettuce and in fact we have many salads and dishes with leafy Greens. It is just that lettuce has no place in a classic Greek salad. I have pondered why lettuce appears in the Greek salad west of the Atlantic and have come to two conclusions. First, lettuce helps to keep costs down since it acts as filler and two, restaurant owners were probably afraid that if lettuce wasn’t present, customers wouldn’t think it was an actual salad. You would think that something as simple as a Greek salad would not need a lengthy post or recipe, but I can assure you that other than in Greece, there are very few places where I can get a decent Greek salad.

What makes this salad difficult is finding the right ingredients. Your tomatoes need to be perfectly ripe, your olive oil needs to be the best and your black olives cannot come out of a can. Kalamatas are preferable, but I have gotten away with Nicoise. In Greece you can order either a tomato-cucumber salad (Anguro-Tomata) or Greek village salad (Horiatiki). The difference is that the latter has cheese and olives, but other than that they are the same.

Greek Village Salad a.k.a The Greek Salad

2-3 super ripe tomatoes cut into eights

½ an English or seedless cucumber halved, then sliced

½ small red onion sliced

4 oz Feta either crumbled or in a large slice on top (omit Feta to make this a vegan entree or side)

10-15 Kalamata olives, depending on your taste and the size of the olives.*

1/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup vinegar (I like a lot of vinegar which will add to the

dipping experience which is described below)

1 tsp Greek or Mexican oregano

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, black olives, salt, pepper, ½ of the oregano, olive oil and vinegar to a serving bowl and toss. Top with feta and add the remaining oregano on top.

*My grandmother also will include thinly slices light green peppers if they are available.

Serves four as a side or 2 as a main.

Serve with crusty bread, which you can dip in the juices that collect in the bottom of the bowl. This is not rude and considered proper form at the dinner table. In fact we frequently eat out of the same bowl and don’t bother to serve the salad on individual plates.

For a variety of bargain-priced, quality feta, olive oil, olives and oregano, go to Titan Foods in Astoria (http://www.titanfood.com/). When I lived in Miami I used to ship from them and even with the shipping included it was still cheaper than buying local. If you are feeling adventurous and want to try other Greek products, feel free to email me for other recommendations on what to buy.

Enjoy!