No simple food is too simple. I can say that based on my life experience and by how the simplest recipes tend to be the most popular. I like them too, especially after coming back from vacation when my refrigerator is still empty and many daily activities take precedence over cooking.
When I was shopping to restock my supplies, I saw this beautiful fresh spinach, and all of a sudden, a salad that my Italian friend made once sprung back to my mind. I remember that it was so easy that she brought all the ingredients to the picnic at Geneva Lake and put it together on the spot. The quality of the ingredients used--especially the cheese and the olive oil--was the only secret of this salad, as is often the case with such simple recipes, especially those coming from Italy.
I used aged Gruyère, tossed in very fresh and white mushrooms, and added the best extra virgin oil I had in my pantry. In no time my lunch was ready and after three weeks of eating tons of labor-intensive Polish food I enjoyed this easy green salad very much.
Spinach and Gruyère Salad
Ingredients:
1 bag of very fresh baby spinach,
6-8 fresh and hard white mushrooms, without stems,
1/2 cup shredded Gruyère cheese, preferably aged,
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
freshly ground pepper,
good quality coarse sea salt (I used French grey sea salt).
Preparation:
1. Place spinach in a large bowl.
2. Wash mushrooms, dry them in a towel, and slice then thinly. Toss them over spinach.
3. Using a vegetable peeler shred thin slices of Gruyere on top of the salad.
4. Season generously with salt and pepper.
5. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with good bread and prosciutto or smoked salmon.
