What would a rabbit like as his accompanying side dish? What can I fit into my work and social life? How can I use up this walnut oil? These are not rhetorical questions.
On Friday, I’ll be making a Braised Rabbit with Whole Grain Mustard, Shallots and Figs for a dinner party. Like a purse to a dress, I wanted the salad to match the main, so made up this highly vegetal salad that’s like a rabbit’s Sunday errands to Whole Foods, and back to the burrow. You know how some wines taste “barnyard”? This tastes like a vegetable patch. I prepared it using the working woman’s wilting technique, a culinary subset of, “Girl, you know how to work”. It’s Wednesday today. Rabbit dinner party is on Friday. No time to cook on Thursday and very little time on Friday. Ergo, a salad that will not only last until Friday -- but will get even better. The kale’s grassiness will soften with the vinaigrette, sweeten with the carrots, and gain some curves with the cheese. The walnut oil is rich, roasted, and ties the whole dish together. Cooking walnut oil destroys its delicate body. And good thing! Because that would just stress me out. Recipe: Stem the kale and chop into very small pieces. Add diced carrots, salt, red wine vinegar, and walnut oil. Add grated Parmesan to taste. Keep in refrigerator for 2 days. Serve with toasted walnuts and more grated Parmesan (the first application will have disappeared, absorbed into the salad’s gestalt umami).