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Baby Greens with Artisinal Cheeses and Charcuterie

Most chefs don't focus on salads. Maybe that's how "chef’s salad" came to mean a pile of iceberg lettuce topped with bits of cheese, strips of cold cuts, and wedges of hard-boiled eggs. But with all the fantastic American cheeses and locally produced charcuterie available today, it's time to put the "chef" back in the chef's salad. It doesn't take long to arrange the meats and cheeses atop a bed of interesting greens, then whip up our quince dressing, drizzle—and dine.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons quince paste (membrillo)*
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

Salad:

4 cups (loosely packed) baby frisée
4 cups (loosely packed) assorted baby greens
Cracked black pepper
4 slices local goat cheese
4 small wedges local blue cheese
4 slices firm aged local cow's-milk or sheep's-milk cheese
12 slices artisanal salami
8 slices speck or prosciutto
1/2 cup Marcona almonds*
1/4 cup Lucques olives or other green olives or 1 small Granny Smith apple, cored, thinly sliced
Baguette slices
  1. For dressing:

    Step 1

    Puree all ingredients in blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  2. For salad:

    Step 2

    Place frisée and other greens in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide greens among plates. Sprinkle cracked pepper over.

    Step 3

    Arrange cheeses, meats, almonds, and olives or apples around greens and serve with baguette slices.

  3. Step 4

    • Available at natural foods stores and specialty foods stores, and from tienda.com.
  4. Shopping tips:

    Step 5

    If you can't find local meats and cheeses, go online. Buy cheeses at murrayscheese.com, or search for local sources at cheesesociety.org. For meats, try laquercia.us or zingermans.com.

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