Chef Graziella
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Insalata di Rucola con Parmigiano
Created by
Peppery greens, aged cheese, good oil, fresh lemon. Four ingredients that prove Italian cooking is about knowing when to stop. The arugula bites back, the Parmigiano answers with salt and depth.
Salads
Italian, Emilian
Weeknight
Quick Meal
10 min
Active Time
0 min cook•10 min total
Yield4 servings
This salad has four ingredients. You cannot hide behind technique or complexity. Either your arugula is fresh and peppery, your Parmigiano is properly aged, your olive oil is worth the price you paid, and your lemon was squeezed moments ago, or the salad fails. There is no middle ground.
In Emilia-Romagna, where Parmigiano-Reggiano has been made the same way for eight centuries, this salad appears on tables without ceremony. It is what you serve before the main course, or alongside a piece of grilled meat. It is not a recipe that anyone writes down because everyone already knows it. The peppery bite of the arugula against the crystalline, nutty sweetness of aged Parmigiano. The oil coating each leaf. The lemon cutting through the richness.
What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. There is no garlic here, no vinegar, no dried herbs, no additions of any kind. When ingredients are this good, additions become subtractions.
Romans ate arugula two thousand years ago, believing it to be an aphrodisiac. The pairing with Parmigiano-Reggiano is a natural marriage of two ingredients from the same region, Emilia-Romagna, where the cheese has been produced under strict regulations since the Middle Ages. This salad represents the Emilian philosophy that great ingredients need nothing but each other.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh arugula (rucola)
Quantity
8 ounces
washed and thoroughly dried
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
4 ounces
aged at least 24 months
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
about half a lemon
flaky sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh arugula (rucola)washed and thoroughly dried | 8 ounces |
| Parmigiano-Reggianoaged at least 24 months | 4 ounces |
| extra virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| fresh lemon juiceabout half a lemon | 1 tablespoon |
| flaky sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Salad spinner
- •Vegetable peeler for shaving cheese
- •Wide shallow serving bowl
Instructions
- 1
Select and prepare the arugula
The arugula must be fresh, with no yellowing or slime. Small leaves are more tender and less bitter than large ones. Wash them in several changes of cold water, then dry them completely in a salad spinner. Wet greens dilute the dressing and create puddles at the bottom of the bowl. This is inexcusable.
If you can find wild arugula (rucola selvatica), with its smaller, more deeply lobed leaves, use it. The flavor is more intense, more peppery. Cultivated arugula is acceptable, but wild is superior. - 2
Shave the Parmigiano
Using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife, shave the Parmigiano-Reggiano into thin, irregular curls. You want shavings, not grated cheese. The texture matters. Each shaving should be thin enough to see light through but substantial enough to provide a bite. Do this just before serving.
- 3
Dress the greens
Place the dry arugula in a wide serving bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the leaves and toss gently with your hands. Every leaf should glisten. Add the lemon juice and toss again. Season with salt sparingly, as the Parmigiano brings its own. The cheese is salty. Remember this.
The ratio is three parts oil to one part lemon. This is not negotiable. Too much lemon overwhelms the arugula. Too little and the salad tastes flat. - 4
Add the Parmigiano and serve
Scatter the Parmigiano shavings over the dressed greens. Do not toss them in. They should rest on top where they can be seen and appreciated. Grind black pepper over all. Serve immediately. This salad waits for no one. Within five minutes the leaves begin to wilt under the acid and oil.
Chef Tips
- •Parmigiano-Reggiano must be aged at least 24 months for this salad. Younger cheese lacks the crystalline texture and concentrated flavor. Look for the consortium stamp burned into the rind. Accept no substitutes.
- •Your olive oil shows itself here with nowhere to hide. Use a fresh, grassy oil from the current harvest. Rancid or flat oil destroys the salad. Taste your oil before you dress the greens.
- •Do not substitute balsamic vinegar for the lemon. The sweetness of balsamic clashes with the peppery arugula. Lemon's clean acidity is correct. This is not a matter of preference.
- •If arugula seems too bitter, the leaves are old or too large. Seek out younger, smaller leaves. Bitterness increases with size and age.
Advance Preparation
- •Wash and dry the arugula up to one day ahead. Store wrapped in paper towels inside a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
- •Shave the Parmigiano just before serving. Pre-shaved cheese dries out and loses its delicate texture.
- •Do not dress this salad in advance. Dress it at the table if you wish, or moments before serving. There is no way around this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 100g)
Calories
215 calories
Total Fat
18 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
590 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
12 g
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