Special Feature: Products Sally Recommends
Arugula with Fresh Golden Barhi Dates, Dried Apricots, Nectarines, and Sumac
by Amelia Saltsman
Makes 8 Servings
Pareve/Vegan
- ½ pound (225 g) crisp golden Barhi dates (about 16)
- ½ cup (55 to 85 g) moist dried apricots (about 16; 2 to 3 ounces)
- 2 ripe nectarines or juicy pears, about ½ pound (225 g) total
- ½ pound (225 g) arugula
- 1 to 2 tablespoons nut oil, such as walnut, pecan, almond, or pistachio
- 1 Valencia orange
- Finishing salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt
- Ground sumac
Cut the dates in half lengthwise and remove the pits, then cut each half into thin crescents and place in a salad bowl. Use kitchen scissors to snip apricots into strips and add to the bowl. Halve the nectarines or pears and pit the nectarines or core the pears. Cut into thin crescents and add to the bowl along with the arugula.
Drizzle the oil to taste over the salad and toss lightly. Using a five-hole zester, and working over the salad bowl, remove the zest from the orange in long strands, getting both the zest and the spray of citrus oils into the bowl. Give the salad a healthy squeeze of orange juice and season to taste with salt and sumac. Toss the salad and sprinkle with additional sumac for color and added tartness.
KITCHEN NOTE: To quickly ripen khalal-stage Barhi dates for another use, freeze them for at least 24 hours. When thawed, they will have turned light brown and have become soft and sweet. This is the same freezing technique that works with astringent Hachiya persimmons, the oblong variety that must be meltingly ripe to be eaten.
Reprinted with permission from The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen © 2015 by Amelia Saltsman, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by Staci Valentine.
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