Arugula with Shaved Pecorino and Lemon

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Salad spinner
• •Vegetable peeler for cheese shavings
• •Wide shallow serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Select your arugula

   Look at the leaves. They should be bright green with no yellowing, no sliminess, no tired edges. Wild arugula has narrow, deeply lobed leaves and a stronger peppery bite. Cultivated baby arugula is milder, rounder. Either works beautifully if it was picked recently. Smell the bunch. Fresh arugula has a clean, slightly spicy fragrance. If it smells like nothing, it will taste like nothing.

   Farmers market arugula picked that morning has an aliveness you cannot find in plastic clamshells. Seek it out.
2. 2

   Wash and dry thoroughly

   Fill a large bowl with very cold water and submerge the arugula. Swish gently, then lift the leaves out and let the grit settle. Repeat if your greens are sandy. Dry the leaves completely in a salad spinner, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel for a few minutes. Water on the leaves will repel the oil and dilute the dressing. This step matters more than any other.

   A salad spinner is worth owning for this reason alone. Wet greens cannot dress properly.
3. 3

   Make the dressing

   Squeeze the lemon through your fingers to catch the seeds. You want about three tablespoons of juice. Pour the olive oil into a small bowl or measuring cup and add the lemon juice with a pinch of salt. Whisk briefly with a fork. Taste. The dressing should be bright and balanced, neither too tart nor too oily. Adjust as needed. No vinegar here. The lemon does all the work.

   Your olive oil matters enormously in a salad this simple. Use something you would happily dip bread into.
4. 4

   Dress the greens

   Place the dry arugula in your widest bowl. Drizzle about two thirds of the dressing over the leaves and toss gently with your hands, lifting and turning until every leaf is lightly coated and glistening. Add more dressing only if needed. The leaves should look alive, not drowned. Season with a pinch of flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

5. 5

   Shave the pecorino

   Using a vegetable peeler, draw long, thin shavings from the block of pecorino directly over the dressed greens. Let them fall where they will. You want generous curls that will catch on the arugula and melt slightly on the tongue. Shave about half the cheese over the bowl, reserving the rest for individual plates.

   Pecorino Romano is sharper and saltier. Pecorino Toscano is younger and milder. Both are beautiful here. Choose what you love.
6. 6

   Plate and serve immediately

   Divide the salad among plates, piling it loosely so the leaves have height and air. Shave a few more curls of pecorino over each portion. A final drizzle of olive oil if you like. Serve at once. This salad waits for no one. The moment you dress it is the moment you eat it.

Chef Tips

• •At the farmers market, look for arugula with roots still attached or sold in bunches rather than pre-washed bags. The leaves stay alive longer when they have not been processed.
• •Buy pecorino in a wedge from a cheese counter where you can taste before purchasing. Pre-shaved cheese dries out and loses its complexity. A fresh wedge melts on the tongue.
• •This salad must be dressed moments before serving. The acid in the lemon will wilt the leaves within ten minutes. Have everything ready, dress at the table if you can.
• •If your arugula is very peppery, choose a milder Pecorino Toscano. If the greens are mild, the sharper Romano will give you better contrast.
• •In winter when arugula is scarce at markets, watercress or young mustard greens make a worthy substitute. The principle is the same: peppery greens, sharp cheese, bright acid.

Advance Preparation

• •Arugula can be washed and dried up to one day ahead, stored wrapped loosely in a clean kitchen towel inside a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
• •The dressing can be whisked together an hour or two ahead and left at room temperature. Give it a stir before using.
• •Never dress this salad in advance. The moment lemon meets leaf, the clock starts ticking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 82g)