Skillet-toasted cheese bread is super delicious with this perky salad.
I found this salad recipe from PBS television star Lidia Bastianich’s newsletter. Bastianich, restauranteur, and cookbook author, pairs a salad of radicchio, endive, apple, and pecorino cheese with skillet-toasted cheese toasts.
I’ve modified her recipe to add Bibb lettuce to the mix and reduce the amount of radicchio and endive.
Instead of Granny Smith apples, I use unpeeled Fuji apples. Pears are a yummy substitute if you like.
She uses walnuts in her salad. Me? Roasted and salted pistachios, of course.
Often, I grate a little extra Fontina and add that to the salad. And a warning; the cheese toasts are so scrumptious; they are very hard to resist. And they pair deliciously with the salad.
A must have.”
Salad of Bibb lettuce, Radicchio, Endive, and Pecorino with Cheese Toasts
Yield: 4 large servings
1/4 cup finely grated Fontina cheese
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese or Pecorino Romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted and salted pistachios
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing skillet
4 long slices country bread, such as La Brea Tuscan bread, about 4-by-6 inches
Freshly ground black pepper
Dressing: 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
1 small head of Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1/2 medium head radicchio, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces
2 heads Belgian endive, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Fuji apples, unpeeled, cored, cut into thick matchsticks, about 1/2-inch wide and 2 1/2 inches long
1/2 cup roasted and lightly salted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh chives
1. Prepare cheese toast: Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-low heat. Place Fontina, Pecorino and 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios in small bowl; toss with your fingers. Brush preheated skillet lightly with olive oil. Add bread slices in single layer and let them sit until toasted and golden on the underside, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, and toast the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with pepper and sprinkle on cheese mixture. Let it melt for a minute; then gently flip. Press with a spatula to weigh bread down toast and compress it slightly. Cook until cheese is crisp and toasted and no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. For the salad: Whisk the vinegar and oil in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add Bibb lettuce, radicchio, endive, apples, and pistachios. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino, parsley, and chives; toss. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with cheese toast.
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