Says Gay Beery, owner of A Pimento Catering, this is a salad for steamy soirées: “Serve this on a hot summer evening alongside a piece of grilled fish or chicken, and with a fresh loaf of bread!” Makes sense to us: There’s enough flavor (between the arugula and fennel) and substance (blue cheese) here to take your mind off those rivulets of sweat running down your nose and hitting the picnic table. Brine those grapes now so you’ll be ready when a heat wave strikes.
Flavor and substance come together in this salad from A Pimento Catering.
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Beery tells us that any light, fruity vinegar can substitute for the moscatel, and that she’s used rosé instead of white wine “with delicious results.” We recommend trying it both ways, just to be sure.
A Pimento Catering’s Salad of Brined Grapes, Fennel, Baby Arugula and Blue Cheese
For the Grapes:
1 cup moscatel vinegar
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 bay leaves
A few allspice berries
1 Tbs. crushed fennel seeds
1 lb. very ripe small grapes, halved
Combine first six ingredients and heat in a saucepan over medium heat; simmer for a minute or two. Cool the brine slightly and add grapes. Place in a container or jars and store for at least one week before using.
For the Salad:
About 4 cups baby Arugula (Beery loves Planet Earth Diversified)
1 to 2 heads fennel, shaved or very thinly sliced
A good handful of fennel fronds, pinched from the top of the head
1 to 2 cups preserved grapes
2 or 3 oz. crumbled mild-to-medium sharp blue cheese (such as Great Hill Blue, St. Pete’s Select or comparable)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brine from grapes
Maldon Salt and pepper to taste
Toss together. Serves four to six.
