Arugula Salad

My apologies for not posting any new recipes on the blog lately. I just figured out where to get wifi access in Grass Valley (a small-ish town in Northern California) and am posting 2 recipes today in an attempt make up for it. I've still been baking and cooking lots, but the photos and recipes have piled up on my laptop instead of on my blog. Time to amend this...

One of my favorite salads is this simple arugula salad. The first time I had something similar was at Trio, a delicious restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last year. I loved my entire meal at this restaurant, and decided I would try to recreate it on my own. Arugula salad was the first part of this dinner that I attempted to make. To my surprise, it was really easy to do (unlike the halibut with wild mushrooms that I had as my main course). I adjusted the acidity level and amount of cheese to my liking, and you can change it in any way you want. I love strong lemon flavors, but you can easily tone it down by changing the lemon to olive oil ratio.

This salad is refreshing and prefect for summer. The local grower's market in Grass Valley, CA has recently started up again after a long winter, and this weekend I picked up some beautiful arugula. These fresh bunches of arugula don't look like what you buy in the grocery store, but, as you can imagine, the flavor is unbelievable. Another reason why I love this salad is that the dressing isn't too heavy. The peppery flavor of the arugula comes through and is not overpowered since the ingredients in this salad are so simple.

Serves 4

1 bunch arugula/rucola/rocket (about 4 cups), washed and chopped*
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
shaved Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix together the lemon juice and oil. Place the arugula in a bowl. Add Desired amount of shaved Parmesan on top. Toss with dressing and season with salt and pepper.

*If you buy grocery store arugula, it is generally made up of small leaves and there's no need to cut those any smaller. Pin It Now!