This is one of the great examples of how a few simple, fresh ingredients can come together to make an unexpectedly delicious dish. Audrey’s Salad starts with tender baby spinach leaves, crisp tart apples and salty hard Italian cheese. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mmmm… good. The flavors are so well balanced and satisfying. It is an unforgettable salad.
My friend Audrey introduced me to this salad when we were in grad school in Mississippi. She brought the cheese back with her from New York (where she was from), which may seem odd, but it wasn’t. Where we were living in rural Mississippi, specialty cheeses weren’t easy to come by. And she knew how much of a difference it would make having better quality ingredients. She’s smart like that;-) My memory tells me it was a block of good quality Romano, but I could be wrong, a few years have gone by since then;-) I have made this salad countless times over the years using whatever the best quality hard Italian cheese I could find. They all change the flavor a little, but all taste great with this recipe.
Audrey’s Salad is great on it’s own or with Perfect Thyme Chicken, Thai Roast Chicken, Broiled Salmon with Creamy Basil Sauce or with my Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The first time I had it, Audrey made a baked lemon chicken to go along with it. It was fabulous! But I don’t have that recipe! Lol! Maybe Audrey will pass it on to us?
Ingredients
- 1 9 oz. bag washed baby spinach leaves
- 1 large Granny Smith apple
- ½ cup freshly shaved Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil - very good quality
- 1-2 lemons juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse, core and slice the apple. In a large serving bowl combine the spinach, apple slices, and cheese (reserving a small amount of each for garnish).
- Drizzle with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly then place remaining apple and cheese on top to garnish as you’d like. Drizzle a little extra olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve!
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