In the Kitchen With: A Delicious Summery Stone Fruit Salad

I start to get excited about summer around May, when I see the first cherries in the market. Yes, I love strawberries, but they seem to be so ubiquitous that they aren’t as special for me as juicy, ripe cherries. So after cherries, I count down the days until the juicy, drip-down-your-arm-can’t-stop-eating-them peach season. As we head into outdoor dining season and less reliance on our ovens, it’s great to have a salad you can throw together in under 15 minutes. Holly Sheppard, founder of Brooklyn-based Fig and Pig catering company, shared one of her company’s most popular salads with us in preparation for Memorial Day celebrations. Holly’s Little Gem Lettuce, Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad is a delicious, tangy and sweet choice to take as a guest to a potluck or present as a host throughout the summer as different fruits come into season. —Kristina

Why Holly loves this recipe: I love the Stone Fruit Salad because it’s a simple salad that impresses. Little Gem or Boston lettuce both hold up well and the stone fruit can easily be substituted. Fresh apricots, cherries, plums, are all delicious additions or substitutions. This salad will impress your guests and embodies all things summer.

Food photography by Kristina Gill | Portrait by Caroline Sheahan

Little Gem Lettuce, Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

Dressing

— 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
— 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
— 1 shallot, minced
— ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
— 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
— ¾ cup canola oil
— Salt and Pepper, to taste

Salad

— 1 head of Butterhead lettuce or two heads of Little Gem, cleaned and torn into smaller pieces
— 3 peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/8s
— 1 cup of cherries (two handfuls), pitted and halved
— 1 burrata
— 6 large leaves of fresh mint, coarsely chopped

Preparation

Remove the burrata from the refrigerator thirty minutes prior to serving the salad.

In a medium bowl, place mustard, vinegar, shallot, thyme, honey, and canola oil. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large salad bowl, place the torn lettuce leaves, sliced peaches, and cherries. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently toss with your hands or serving spoons until the ingredients are covered and the dressing is evenly distributed. Arrange the salad on a large platter or in a large shallow serving bowl. Place the burrata in the middle of the platter, and sprinkle the mint over the salad.

To serve, cut the burrata in quarters and divide the salad among four plates.

About Holly: With over 15 years of catering and restaurant experience, Culinary Institute of America trained chef Holly Sheppard has worked at Gramercy Tavern, Mary’s Fish Camp, Fat Radish, and Annisa before opening Fig & Pig in 2011. She wanted to present clients with accessible and delicious food, using the best possible ingredients. Fig & Pig is a creative, quality-driven catering company devoted to showcasing seasonal ingredients and producing exceptional, food-focused events. Find Holly and Fig and Pig on Instagram here and Facebook here.

from Design*Sponge http://www.designsponge.com/2017/05/in-the-kitchen-with-a-delicious-summery-stonefruit-salad.html

from Home Improvment http://notelocreesnitu.tumblr.com/post/161096832234