Say Cheese Salad!

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As I do research for The Cheese Shop Mysteries, because my protagonist is supposed to be an expert in all things cheese, I am having the best time checking out restaurants that spotlight cheese. I found a great place this past week. It’s actually, get this, called Say Cheese! [my motto] It’s in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on Hyperion. It’s a charming deli as well as a café.

So, anyway, my friend and I went for lunch and we chose the same salad, Lemon Dill with Smoked Salmon. The salad was DELICIOUS!!!! But it did not have cheese in it, and I thought, harrumph, I must rectify that. I wanted to add a cheese that had a nutty flavor and the firm texture of a Tomme Savoie. The cheesemonger at Say Cheese fixed me up with Vacherin Fribourgeois, a cow’s milk cheese from Switzerland.

I went home that night with all the fixings and plated the salad as I’d seen it at the restaurant, but I tweaked by adding some spicy olives, baby tomatoes, and slices of the cheese. Voilá!

ASPARAGUS AND SMOKED SALMON SALAD

WITH VACHERIN FRIBOURGEOIS

Ingredients:

[makes one salad]

Mixed greens

4 stalks asparagus per salad, cooked al dente and cooled

3 oz. smoked salmon per salad

6 mixed olives

2 slices Vacherin Fribourgeois

6 baby tomatoes

Directions:

Layer the greens on a large plate.

Place the four stalks of asparagus down the center of the greens.

Place three olive and three tomatoes on each side of the plate.

Wrap slices of salmon around each stalk of asparagus.

Crisscross two triangular slices of Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese below the salmon.

Next, I tried coming up with the same dressing as the restaurant. While they probably used mayonnaise, I kept mine simpler, a little lighter. I had brought a sample home and had my husband taste-test. He preferred mine. [Note: He might be biased.]

Here’s the recipe:

LEMON DILL DRESSING

Ingredients:

[enough for 3-4 salads]

1 large lemon

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 egg (whipped)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Pinch of dill

Directions:

Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl, remove any seeds.

Add the other ingredients.

Whip with a blender. Serve immediately.

Serve with a crusty loaf of bread and you’ve got a lovely fall meal as the temperatures start to turn.

Enjoy! And Say Cheese!

And if you like, visit my website: http://www.averyaames.com/ and sign up for my newsletter with recipes and tips and a recurring column about the history of cheese. Next month I'll spotlight Vacherin Fribourgeois!