It was a Week of Salads at our house, and on display is this fun new way to salad – pan-warming with a warm dressing! My birthday each year brings new cookbooks into our world and along with that, a whole new set of ideas.  We have grilled our greens before, but this is the start of pan-warming our salads for the future.

Pan-warming your dressing and greens brings an adventurous energy to the air – almost like you’re breaking the rules of Salads – which is the historically raw, cold, and crisp of greens and accompaniments.  It probably shouldn’t feel that way since we all know how perfect the aroma of warmed shallots and garlic in a pan fill a kitchen and, dare I say, makes it whole.  To top it off, you can add the rest of the dressing fixings, and then just slightly heat and wilt your greens in the warm dressing, and you are ready to serve.  A simple dinner with an extravagant result!

This salad was out of a French cookbook, Á Table, and when the theme was salads and this had olives, grapes, and blue cheese, I knew I wanted to pair thinly sliced steak with this to accompany the star that will be the salad. The recipe calls for Escarole, but we were not able to locate any, so we opted for a hearty green leaf lettuce that would stand up to being warmed without wilting like spinach or chard.

As my love of all things food has evolved, so has the cookbook collection. You will frequently find me in my ‘library’ (aka den) flipping through pages for inspiration, reading about others’ love of food and origin stories for recipes, and finding the perfect dish to fit our upcoming week.

I appreciate how the stories and pictures can transport me to a different part of the country or the world. Then we roll up our sleeves, get in the kitchen, and take ourselves there. I hope this salad can help you go on your next adventure. Enjoy!

Escarole Salad with Grapes & Olives + Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 Tbls red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbls Dijon mustard
• Sea salt
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 head, escarole, torn into large pieces
• 8 oz concord grapes
• 3/4 cup green olives, such as castelvetrano
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. When it is hot, add the shallots and garlic until they are soft and start to caramelize (approx. 7-10 mins). Add the vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Next stir in mustard and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down and stir in the escarole/greens. Toss the leaves in the dressing with tongs until they wilt slightly. Then add grapes, olives and 1/2 cup of blue cheese until the cheese softens. Transfer to platter, top with more cheese and black pepper.

Happy Wilting!!!

*Recipe from Á Table by Rebekah Peppler.