Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Giada's Arugula Salad with Fried Gorgonzola

Inspiration:
CSA arugula and tomatoes and the lovely Giada

Ingredients:
  • 7 ounces Gorgonzola
  • 1 large egg, beaten to blend
  • 3/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
  • 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for deep-frying
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 cups coarsely torn arugula (about 10 ounces)



Instructions:
  1. Blend the Gorgonzola in a food processor until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the work bowl occasionally. Using 1 rounded teaspoon of cheese for each, form the cheese into 18 (1-inch) balls. Working in batches, roll balls and flatten into patties, coat the patties with the egg then with the bread crumbs. Repeat coating the patties in the egg and bread crumbs. Arrange the patties on a small baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.
  2. Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, and lemon peel in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup oil. Season the dressing, to taste, with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.

  3. Add enough oil to a heavy small saucepan to come 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. At this point, remove the refrigerated Gorgonzola patties from the refrigerator. Working in batches, add the cold balls to the hot oil and fry just until golden brown, about 20 seconds. (It is essential that the Gorgonzola patties be cold when they go into the oil, otherwise they will fall apart in the oil. If they start to warm up at any point, return them to the refrigerator to firm back up.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried patties to paper towels to drain.

  4. Toss the arugula in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad on plates. Top the salads with the hot fried Gorgonzola patties and serve immediately.


Notes:
Wow. I can't believe I made this. It's amazing! The dressing, the combination of the arugula and the gorgonzola- delicious. Tip: make sure that your oil is hot enough before you fry the patties.


Tim's Rating: 10/10 ("Best salad I've ever had.")
Liz's Rating: 10/10

8 comments:

Maggie M. said...

That looks completely amazing.

Erin said...

any salad topped with fried cheese is a winner in my book :)

Sarah said...

That looks fabulous - come on over to my place and make some....although, I realize now after typing that it sounds like a sleazy proposition.

Anonymous said...

Not only does this looks absolutely fabulous but it sounds AMAZING! What a GREAT idea to use gorgonzola! I always use the same ingredients. I need to branch out b/c this looks great!

Jaime said...

If you like goat cheese, the Barefoot Contessa has a similar salad using that.

Maria said...

What a beautiful salad! I love arugla and I am sure it is amazing with the cheese!!

MrsSchoon said...

Oh my. That's looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog through a recommendation from Google Reader and WOW, this salad looks incredible! I didn't know you could improve Gorgonzola, but frying it up, that's just genius.