Saffron and Honey

Eat Chic

Winter salad: braised leeks, arugula, and crab apples

20111102-230601.jpg

(well, and a couple more lovely things…)

This is a surprising and delicate salad, which also proves to be entirely addictive. Maybe it’s the combination of textures or the addictive crunch of the apple slices against the suppleness of the leeks.

Crab apples are tart and sweet at the same time, and have a great bite, making a perfectly satisfying winter salad.

You’ll need:

  • 3-4 large leeks, trimmed
  • 5-6 crab apples, sliced
  • 2 cups of arugula
  • 5 thin slices of ricotta salata
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 T butter
  • dried thyme
  • bay leaf
  • salt, pepper
  • olive oil
  • apple quintessence (a treat from Quebec; you can substitute cider concentrate or a nice, sweeter apple cider vinegar)

1. Braise the leeks: in a deep saucepan, melt a tablespoon of butter with some bay leaf and dried thyme. Add the leeks (trimmed to just the whites and the very) light green parts) and the stock. Season. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Scoop out of the stock with a slotted spoon, slice in half and cool before serving.

*Use the enriched stock for other dishes.

2. Now you are ready to assemble the salad: layer arugula, apple slices, and ricotta next to the leeks on a platter.

Add fresh ground black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and apple quintessence, if using.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. SoupAddict says

    I’ve got an entire patch of leeks in my garden – they’ll last through January (if they, you know, last). I don’t think I’ve ever had crab apples before. I’ll have to check them out. 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.