Bowl of Catalan Salad
(click to enlarge)

Catalan Salad


Spain - Catalonia   -   Amaneda
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5 salad
**
40 min
Most		 An unusual, delicious and very much non-vegetarian salad from Catalonia. Don't skip the Garnishes on this one. This salad is durable on a buffet, and can be made ahead up to dressing the greens.




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12
5
6
3-1/2
8
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1
1/2
1
1/4
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2
5
---
oz
oz

oz

---
cl
c
T
t
---

oz
-- Salad
Escarole head
Celery
Scallions
Serrano Ham (1)
Anchovy fillet (2)  
-- Dressing
Garlic
Mayonnaise (3)
Wine Vinegar
Salt (4)
-- Garnish
Eggs, hard boiled
Butifarra (5)
Do-Ahead   -   (1 hr - 10 min work)
  1. Boil and peel EGGS (Best Method).
Salad   -   (25 min)
  1. Cut or tear ESCAROLE greens into bite size pieces, discarding white stems.
  2. Dice CELERY small.
  3. Chop SCALLIONS small
  4. Slice SERRANO HAM less than 1/8 inch thick. Cut into squared about 1/4 inch on a side.
  5. Drain Oil from ANCHOVIES. Give them a short soak in Water to remove some of the salt. Drain well and chop small.
  6. Mix together all Salad Items and chill.
Dressing   -   (4 min)
  1. Crush GARLIC and chop very fine.
  2. Mix together all Dressing Items and chill.
Garnish & Serve   -   (7 min)
  1. Dice or Slice Eggs depending on your serving style (see Note-6).
  2. Dice Butifarra about 1/4 inch on a side.
  3. Toss Salad with Dressing and serve garnished with Eggs and Butifarra (see Note-6).
NOTES:

  1. Spanish Ham:

      Serrano Ham has been legal in the US for some time now, but still sells at contraband prices (2014 US $160 / pound) and is pretty much special order. Italian Proscuitto makes an acceptable and much more available and affordable substitute. Ask the deli to cut it relatively thick, but less than 1/8 inch.

  2. Anchovies:

      Avoid Moroccan anchovies, the quality is often very bad. Italian are widely available in jars (and in cans at Trader Joe's) and South American are quite good. For details see our Anchovy Products page.

  3. Mayonnaise:

      Home made is best, but can be risky, especially in business friendly Red States, due to the raw egg yolks. Second best is Hellmann's (east of the Mississippi) or Best Foods (west of the Mississippi), as nearly all food writers agree.

  4. Salt:

      If, for some reason you don't use the Anchovies, use about 1/3 t salt. If you didn't rinse your Anchovies with water, use no salt in the dressing.

  5. Butifarra / Butifarita:

      These are fully cooked white Catalán sausages (sandwich size and regular links). Both are available from La Española Meats (US Made). Subst: a mild Summer Sausage, Polish Sausage, or French Saucisson cuit (cooked garlic sausage). For details see our Sausages and the Like page.

  6. Serving:

      For a salad served in individual bowls, you may want to slice the eggs and arrange them artfully on the top, after sprinkling on the Butifarra, but for buffet service I dice the eggs about 5/8 inch and toss them and the Butifarra together with the salad. This salad was very much liked at a recent buffet party.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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