By Late June and summer is in full swing, which means Ryan is working more (summer is a busier season than people expect for the fire department — heat, fireworks, open windows, backyard grills) and I am on break and cooking more than ever. This is a good ratio. I have time for the projects that get squeezed during the school year.
This week I made homemade pickles for the first time — quick refrigerator pickles from the cucumbers that are overproducing at the farmers market: cucumbers, dill, garlic, peppercorns, white vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, and twenty-four hours in the fridge. They cost almost nothing and taste better than anything in a jar from the store and Ryan has been eating them straight from the container, which is not what they are for, but they are very good and I understand the impulse.
I visited Babcia Rose on Saturday with a jar of pickles and some of the new batch of apple butter that I got ahead on because the early season apples are good this year. She tasted the pickles and said they needed more dill. She is correct. I added more dill to my notes. She tasted the apple butter and was quiet for a moment and then said it was good. From Babcia Rose, about something I made, "good" without further qualification is equivalent to a medal. I am putting it on the shelf in my mental trophy case.
She asked about children this visit. Not urgently — Babcia Rose asks things the way she makes pierogi, with patience and a fixed endpoint in mind. I said we are not trying yet, we just got married. She said she knew that. She said she was just asking. I said we want to wait a little. She said she understood. Then she said she would not be around forever, which is a sentence she has been deploying since I was twelve and which I refuse to accept on factual grounds while acknowledging its emotional weight. I held her hand for a while after that and we did not talk about it anymore.
The early apples that made this year’s apple butter so good have been following me into everything I cook — and after that quiet Saturday with Babcia Rose, tasting something I made and hearing her say it was good, I wanted to stay close to simple things that let good ingredients speak for themselves. This salad is exactly that: crisp apple, sharp Manchego, a handful of chives from the pot on the back step, and a light vinaigrette that takes less time to throw together than it does to find a clean jar. It is the kind of thing I can make on a weeknight without thinking too hard, which is the highest compliment I know how to give a recipe in late June.
Apple Manchego and Chive Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 oz baby arugula or mixed greens
- 2 medium crisp apples (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), cored and thinly sliced
- 3 oz Manchego cheese, shaved or thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
- 1/4 cup fresh chives, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Prepare the apples. Core and thinly slice the apples just before assembling — if you need to prep them ahead, toss the slices in a small splash of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- Assemble the salad. Spread the greens on a large platter or in a wide bowl. Arrange the apple slices across the greens. Scatter the shaved Manchego and chives evenly over the top. Add the toasted nuts if using.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving. Toss gently or serve undressed and let people help themselves. Eat immediately — the greens do not hold once dressed.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg