CHOP RIGHT
A weeknight salad with Sicilian heart
Like most of the dishes at the new Rosemary’s Enoteca & Trattoria in Manhattan, chef Wade Moises’s chopped salad gets a Sicilian spin. The recipe reads like a who’s who of favorite Italian ingredients, with escarole, artichokes, caper berries and vivid-green Castelvetrano olives all appearing in the bowl. Thanks to mix-ins like ricotta salata and a luscious brine-spiked vinaigrette, the salad manages to offer the intrinsically sweet, sour and briny flavors of the Sicilian palate in every bite.
Chopped Salad Siciliana
Recipe adapted from Wade Moises, Rosemary's Enoteca & Trattoria, New York City
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon club soda or sparkling water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon caper-berry brine
1 teaspoon olive brine
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced basil leaves
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
1 head of escarole, trimmed and cut into 1-inch strips
8 caper berries, halved
8 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 fresh artichoke heart, trimmed and thinly shaved
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
½ cup cooked chickpeas
2 ounces ricotta salata cheese, diced into ⅛-inch cubes
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, toasted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Make the vinaigrette: In a small mixing bowl, whisk the vinegar with the club soda, honey, caper-berry brine and olive brine. Add the shallots, basil leaves and garlic, then whisk in the olive oil until combined. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
2. Make the salad: In a large salad bowl, combine the escarole with the caper berries, olives, artichoke heart, tomatoes, chickpeas, cheese, golden raisins and sunflower seeds.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, then serve immediately.
Finishing Touches
It's the details that count! Try these tips
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Watch a quick tutorial on how to trim an artichoke.
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While chef Moises uses raw, thinly sliced artichoke in the salad, you could easily substitute jarred artichoke hearts to cut down on the chopping required for this weeknight supper.
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Chef Moises also recommends substituting other hearty greens like kale, radicchio, romaine, butter or Bibb lettuce, or some combination thereof in place of the escarole.
