It’s an oxymoron, Salad Pizza. But seemingly disparate things do seem to find a place in my heart and my kitchen. I can’t really take credit for this pizza idea. I chanced across this in a darling little pizza joint that’s opened close to my house. (Review soon enough…). Tomatoes and Arugula on a Crisp Pizza base! With the recent bumper luck of arugula availability at my door step – it’s also super easy to make.
If there is a salad leaf that’s got a special place in my heart – it’s Arugula. So when I find it in the market, I’m going to treat it with a lot of love. The gorgeous peppery Arugula needs very little to make it shine. A simple balsamic dressing to give it the right amount of zing, coupled with some luscious sidekicks like Feta, Cranberries and Walnuts.
I hardly find Arugula in the market these days. All the good stuff is siphoned off by restaurants and we are literally left with little or none of this zingy, peppery, salad leaf. So every time I want to eat Arugula or Rocket, I need to go to a fancy restaurant and order their over-priced salads. I know a lot of friends with green thumbs who just scoff at the idea that I don’t grow my own arugula. According to them, it is insanely easy to grow – almost like a ‘salad leaves for dummies’ kinda thing. Unfortunately none of them realize that I have managed to kill even the most resilient cacti, given enough time!
Feta is a brined soft cheese, made from sheep (and goats milk) and is very popular in Greek cuisine. It looks like paneer but is much softer, grainier and tangier. While the most popular way of using feta is in a Greek Salad – this cheese has the ability to shine in many other dishes. I picked up a slab of Feta this week and was hard pressed to find a recipe that does it justice. I wanted Feta to be the star of the dish and not just a supporting element. After many frustrating hours of searching my recipe books and the internet, I just decided to use it in a Watermelon and Arugula (Rocket) Salad. Besides, I had recently learnt how to deseed a watermelon and I was itching to see if it works. (It does – Instructables shows you how!). The salad is an amazing medley of tastes and textures – sweet and crispy watermelon, crunchy and peppery arugula and finally creamy and salty feta, dressed with silky honey and olive oil. …
The FoodPorn Diaries 