Bok Choy Wedge Salad

June 11, 2015
Lunch

Hi friends and fellow eaters! As I sit down to write at long last, the sweet, tangy, buttery aroma of a rhubarb-strawberry crisp fills my nose. My oh my has it been a while.

Emma Frisch Bok Choy Wedge Salad Ingredient

I’ve been swept up by spring, stretching my limbs in the sun and soaking up campfire perfume at Firelight Camps. Well, that and everything else that comes with launching and running a glamping hotel. But it’s easy for anyone and everyone to be consumed by the fast unfurling of spring projects and the onset of summer, isn’t it?

This is why, for me, the first CSA of the season always marks a new chapter. It’s the time of year that I embrace my kitchen with renewed vigor, when the first bounty of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables floods in my door. Every cell in my body screams with joy, and the culinary adventures begin with the promise of six more months of harvest. Cooking gives me time to pause and relish the sights, smells, textures, sounds and flavors of the season. It is moving meditation with the ultimate reward of serving the people you love.

So, you can imagine how delighted I was when Early Morning Farm asked me to join them in making a cooking video to help its CSA members turn their weekly shares into culinary masterpieces, with very little effort. I love any opportunity to teach people how to cook, and invite them into a world that is not quite as difficult or scary as many might think.

I decided to kick off the season with an easy recipe, the Bok Choy Wedge Salad. This is a Frisch Twist on the classic Iceberg Wedge, with more flavor and nutrition. The salad is easily assembled by separating the leaves from the stems, rinsing and quartering the stems. The quartered stems rest on the bed of leaves. A warm-honey mustard is then drizzled over the top, slightly wilting the leaves, and crispy bacon (optional) and blue cheese (also optional) are crumbled on top. Early Morning Farm offers a vegetarian alternative to bacon with a recipe for Shitake Bacon. And blue cheese can be substituted with feta or goat cheese.

You will find this recipe in the cooking video, along with two other bok choy dishes: Spring Rolls with Bok Choy, Pickled Onion and Mango, and Spicy Garlic Stir-Fried Bok Choy. You can find both these recipes and the recipe for the Bok Choy Wedge on the Early Morning Farm website as well.

Enjoy the first greens of the season, and stay tuned for more!

Love and happy cooking,

Emma

Emma Frisch Bok Choy Wedge Salad Recipe




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Bok Choy Wedge Salad

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large head or several small heads
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (substitute with feta)

Honey-Mustard Dressing

  • 1/4 cup bacon fat (from cooking bacon)
  • 1 tablespoon shallot, grated
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1.5 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook the bacon until crispy, and reserve 1/4 cup of bacon fat for the dressing. Drain bacon on a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack and set aside.
  2. Separate the bok choy leaves from the stems. Slice the leaves and lay on a plate. Rinse the trunk of the stem under water, washing away the grit at the base of the stems. Cut the trunk of the stems into quarters. Lay on top of the bok choy leaves.
  3. In a small saucepan, add the bacon fat and shallots. Bring to a simmer and add the remaining ingredients, stirring to incorporate. Remove from heat and store until ready to use, or drizzle immediately over the bok choy, allowing the leaves to slightly wilt.
  4. Using your hands, crumble the bacon over the salad. Add the blue cheese, and serve.

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