I know Anne Burrell from the syndicated Food Network show “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef,” where she showed off her quirky and offbeat character but unleashed a ton of knowledge. Burrell knows what she’s talking about when it comes to cooking, and she is great at giving clear instructions, which has helped me make her recipes at home. (Her pasta bolognese is a favorite in my house; the recipe is wonderful.) Her recipes are also great because she draws from her experience in famous kitchens such as Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia and Peter Hoffman’s Savoy, not to mention Kitchen Stadium as one of Mario Batali’s sous chefs. The theme of her new book, Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire & Empower, is not a whole lot different from her show.
I chose to make her chopped salad with warm goat cheese. The salad was good because of the abundance of different veggies and textures. The only part I didn’t like, though, was that the goat cheese was warm. Heating the cheese gave it a bit of grainy texture that didn’t quite work.
Insalata “Chopata” with Warm Goat Cheese Serves 4
2 large eggs
1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ -inch dice
½ small red onion, cut into ¼ -inch dice
1 cup fennel, cut into ¼ -inch dice
1 cup celery, peeled and cut into ¼ -inch dice
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 romaine heart (or ½ head iceberg), cut into a chiffonade
1 cup fresh or canned corn kernels
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼ -inch dice
¼ cup salted sunflower seeds
½ bunch of fresh oregano, leaves finely chopped
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
6 oz. goat cheese
• Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover them in 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan. Remove from heat and set the timer. Leave the eggs in the covered pot for 13 minutes … eggs-actly! Remove the eggs from the hot water and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the carrots, onion, fennel, celery, chickpeas, romaine, corn, cucumber, sunflower seeds and oregano. Toss to combine.
• Peel and chop the eggs and toss them in with the veggies.
• In a measuring cup, combine the oil and vinegar. Whisk to combine and add to the veggies. Season with salt to taste.
• Place the goat cheese in a heatproof dish and warm in a microwave for 1½ minutes or in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
• Stir the salad, taste and season more if needed. Divide the salad among 4 serving plates and top each with a dollop of warm goat cheese to serve.
Reprinted with permission from Clarkson Potter Publishers What’s your favorite dish that you learned to make from a cooking show? Tell us about the dish and the show in the comments below for a chance to win a copy of Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire & Empower. And now, we’d like to congratulate Hao, whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won her a copy of The New Midwestern Table. Hao, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in April 2014.
