Spring Greens Salad with Warm Crème Fraîche and Black Cocoa

By | March 29, 2024

Making your own flavored vinegar and oil might seem like a crazy thing only chefs in the Hot 10 would do, but once you make them (which is easy), your salads will enjoy instant upgrades.

Ingredients

4 Servings

Vinegar and Oil

1

grapefruit

1

orange

1

lemon

1

cup distilled white vinegar

teaspoons sugar

1

cup vegetable oil

1

tablespoon finely ground dried lemon verbena

Cocoa Crumble and Assembly

½

cup all-purpose flour

2

tablespoons sugar

2

tablespoons black cocoa powder

1

tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder

teaspoon baking soda

Kosher salt

4

tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

cup crème fraîche

Freshly ground black pepper

8

cups mixed greens (such as mâche, arugula, red chard, red romaine, and/or red and green oak

Ingredient Info

Black cocoa powder can be found at some specialty foods stores and online.

Preparation

  1. Vinegar and Oil

    Step 1

    Preheat oven to 200°. Using a vegetable peeler, remove zest in wide strips from grapefruit, orange, and lemon. Place zest on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Turn off oven and dehydrate zest in oven until dried out and brittle, 24–48 hours.

    Step 2

    Cook vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°. Combine vinegar mixture and zest in an airtight nonreactive container. Cover and store in a cool, dark place at least 1 week.

    Step 3

    Combine oil and lemon verbena in an airtight container. Cover and store in a cool, dark place at least 1 week.

    Step 4

    Do Ahead: Vinegar and oil can be made 1 month ahead. Keep at room temperature.

  2. Cocoa Crumble and Assembly

    Step 5

    Preheat oven to 350°. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix flour, sugar, black cocoa, Dutch-processed cocoa, baking soda, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl until combined. Add butter and beat until mixture resembles wet sand. Turn out dough onto a piece of parchment paper and gently knead until no dry spots remain, about 1 minute. Roll out dough on parchment to a 9″ round about ⅛” thick. Transfer dough on parchment to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until edges are set, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then break into smaller pieces. Transfer to a resealable bag, seal, and crush with a rolling pin until finely ground.

    Step 6

    Gently warm crème fraîche, 1 Tbsp. citrus vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. lemon verbena oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking to combine. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

    Step 7

    Soak greens in very cold water until leaves are crisp, 8–10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels, then toss with 2 Tbsp. citrus vinegar in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

    Step 8

    Arrange greens on a platter, sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. cocoa crumble, and drizzle with warm crème fraîche mixture.

    Step 9

    Do Ahead: Cocoa crumble can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 820 Fat (g) 76 Saturated Fat (g) 20 Cholesterol (mg) 55 Carbohydrates (g) 37 Dietary Fiber (g) 6 Total Sugars (g) 16 Protein (g) 6 Sodium (mg) 120

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