Arugula Salad with Grilled Red Onion

Over Memorial Day weekend Tim and I made a stand-by recipe for blackened salmon sandwiches. While it did not dawn on me to blog about them (which I will have to do, as that is a super sandwich) I am going to tell you about the salad we made with the leftover arugula.

Now that we've had arugula in the house for the past few days, I think it may need to become a household salad staple. It has such a great peppery flavor that adds so much dimension to an otherwise plain ol' salad.

We knew we did not want the leftover arugula to go to waste, so Tim perused at least three cookbooks and left them open for me to review to three arugula-based salads. We chose one from Frank Stitt's Southern Table which was for arugula (and other lettuces) with grilled red onion, parmesan, and a shallot vinaigrette. Since we had all that was required in-house, and it sounded like a yummy combo, that was the salad-experiment of choice.

To arugula and other greens (we used bibb lettuce), you add a grilled red onion slice and drizzle with a simple vinaigrette of balsamic and red wine vinegars with olive oil and a minced shallot, add a shaving of parmesan over the top and there you are. It was tart dressing and peppery salad and sweet onion... a good combo all around.

This went well one night with left-over steak and a second with left over spinach and ricotta tart along with a nice Shiraz.

From Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Arugula Salad with Red Onion and Parmigiano-Reggiano

serves 4

1 shallot, minced
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, sliced into rings about 1/2" thick
2 large bunches arugula, trimmed, washed, and dried
1/2 cup each of watercress, Bibb lettuce, and frisee, trimmed, washed, and dried (optional) (we just used Bibb)
4 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved into shards with a vegetable peeler

To make vinaigrette, in a small bowl, combine the shallot with vinegars, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste, and let macerate for 15 minutes. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, taste and adjust seasoning.
Heat a medium skillet over high heat until hot. Add the onion and cook, turning once, until charred and just tender, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Combine the arugula, mixed lettuces, and charred onion in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Toss with the vinaigrette and divide among four salad plates. Scatter some of the Parmigiano over each serving.