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One of our favorite new places to eat, Sauce, has an awesome salad: Chopped Chicken, Pine Nuts, Cherry Tomato & Gorgonzola. It was my idea to replicate that salad and its dressing. But I also wanted to make it something of my own. I did not write down anything for this recipe, so I’m going on sheer recollection of the dish.

I give you my first attempt at this dish, that I have entitled:
Spinach Panchetta Salad with pine nuts in a Gorganzola vinagerette.

Ingredients:

Vinegarette:

4 oz of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

2 tablespoons of Olive oil

2 tablespoons of blended oil ( Olive oil and canola oil may work best here)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon of lime juice

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

The rest of the salad:

9 oz of baby spinach

1/4 cup pine nuts ( 2.25 oz package)

1/4 lb. thin sliced Panchetta

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preparation:

In a food processor or blender, blend the two oils. In this experiment, I added the whole 4oz package of gorganzola with the salt and pepper next and blended well, pausing a few times to scrape down the side and blending again. Add the lemon and lime juices and combine again. When the flavor was just right, we had the consistancy of a ceaser dessing. Not really the replicant I was hoping for, but it tasted perfect.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a pan and fry the panchetta to golden brown. remove from the pan and allow to cool over a paper towel. When cooled, crumble the panchetta.

Preheat the oven to 350. Put the pine nuts into a pie pan or cookie sheet evenly. Keep an eye on the nuts, when you can smell them outside the oven, they are perfect. Remove them immediately and allow them to cool.

In a large serving bowl, put the dressing in first, followed by the spinach, then the panchetta, then the pine nuts. Using large salad forks or even tongs, fold the salad into the dressing. Serve immediately.

Yeilds: 5-6 servings.

This recipe, although nothing was written, was a massive success. Even the guest we thought would not touch it finished her serving and gave it a rave review. I am not sure I would change much about the recipe, but one thing is for sure, we will be serving it often. I hope it brings as much enjoyment to your table as it has to ours.

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