We’re definitely moving into salad weather so here’s a recipe featuring pungent and peppery arugula tossed with homemade croutons, shaved Parmesan cheese and lightly dressed with good olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Don’t even think about using store-bought croutons. Homemade croutons are super easy to make and so much tastier! This is a simply-flavored salad so you need to use best-quality ingredients!
This recipe centers around the arugula (also known as rocket), which also provides much of the salad’s flavor…substituting a different kind of green will make the salad much less interesting. Trader Joe’s usually sells wild and/or organic arugula so that’s where I get mine. Also, buy a really good quality Parmesan cheese—it’s worth the splurge. Enjoy!
Wild Arugula Salad with Garlic Croutons, Shaved Parmesan, and Lemon
-recipe from Epicurious.com
Wild arugula is dark green with spiky leaves. It has a more intense flavor than that of regular arugula. You’ll find wild arugula at farmers’ markets and at some supermarkets. Makes 6 servings.
1 8-ounce piece ciabatta with crust (preferably day-old)
1 large garlic clove, peeled
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces arugula (preferably wild; about 10 cups packed)
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved into strips with vegetable peeler
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub crust of bread with garlic clove. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces and place in large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup olive oil. Sprinkle bread lightly with salt; arrange in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Place arugula in large bowl. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, adding more lemon juice, if desired. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2/3 of croutons and half of Parmesan cheese and toss. Transfer to serving bowl; scatter remaining croutons and Parmesan cheese over and serve.
Tags: arugula, arugula salad, croutons, Epicurious.com, homemade croutons, Italian salad, parmesan cheese, rocket salad, Salad, wild arugula
I was looking for a side to have with our grilled salmon this weekend. This is perfect! Thanks!