Manchego Y Manzanas- The Saucier Goes Spanish

Behold, I return!

After significant tragedy and just general life suckage, I’m back, with a sassy little salad perfect for those (gross, muggy,) long days of summer ahead. With key ingredients including a salty Spanish cheese and homemade vinaigrette, this is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters (unless of course, they are allergic to nuts or lactose intolerant…)

I’ve had several different versions of this salad, at different Tapas restaurants. One with greens and fennel, and one without. I liked both, but I found the version with the greens to be much more satisfying, and generally more like a salad as people in most of North America would think of it.

Ingredients:

Greens:

Now, you have several choices here as far as greens go. I don’t know what kind they used in the place where I discovered this, but I suspect that it was baby Arugula, and that’s what I purchased. It has a slightly bitter, peppery flavour, which I find delicious in contrast to the sweet apples and salty cheese. If you are looking for something a bit sweeter or more tender I would go with Watercress. In a pinch, baby spinach would probably be alright as well.

Cheese:

Half the name of our salad is in deference to the cheese around which the salad is based. Manchego is a sheeps’ milk cheese, manufactured in the La Mancha region of spain, and manufactured exclusively from the milk of Manchega sheep (hence the name.) It is semi-firm, and cuts easily. It can be mild or sharp depending on how long it is aged, but at the minimum (three to six months) it has a mild, salty flavor. It is readily available at most markets with a large cheese section (I got mine at Whole Foods.)

Apples:

The other half of our dynamic duo. (Manzanas is Spanish for apples.) Granny Smiths seem to be the traditional choice for this dish. Aside from going along with our lovely green and white colour scheme, they don’t get mushy quickly and they give a nice hint of tart-sweetness.

Walnuts:

Halved is best, the more crushed they are, the harder they are to get on the fork. Make sure they are as fresh as possible, or they’ll lose the buttery taste and consistency that makes them perfect in this dish.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

Making up three fourths of our dressing, since it features so prominently it is important that you purchase a high quality variety. In keeping with the theme, I bought “all Spanish” EVOO from Whole Paycheque. Do not skimp and use “virgin” or “light” varieties. You will not get the depth of flavour you want.

Sherry Vinegar;

This was a bitch and a half to find, but it was worth it. I suppose a red wine vinegar would suffice if you can’t come up with it, but if you use that you may want to add a little sugar to your dressing, because the sherry adds an additional sweetness that I doubt you could come up with from ordinary red wine.

Ok, now that I’ve rambled on, let’s get cracking!

To make the dressing, pour one and one half cups of your EVOO into an empty wine or other large bottle. Add to this one half cup of the sherry vinegar. (You can make as much as you want, just keep to the 3/4 to 1/4 ratio.) Cork or cap, and shake until emulsified (till it’s not layered and see through anymore.)

Cut the cheese (tee hee) and the apples into bits.  Every time I’ve had this at a restaurant, the apples and cheese have both been cut into “matchsticks” that were maybe a third of an inch square. I chose to cut my cheese into small squares instead, because I like to have variety in my food (also the apples and cheese are sort of the same colour, making it difficult to tell what you’re getting a mouthful of if you aren’t paying attention.)

Throw a handful of cheese, apples, and walnuts on top of a bowl of greens, toss in some dressing, and enjoy!

I don’t think anything is necessary beyond this point, but if you choose, you can sprinkle on some salt, black pepper, or even sugar to taste. Serve immediately, and happy crunching!

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