Many fans of Lynne Rossetto Kasper know her from numerous cookbooks and especially from her award-winning public radio food radio program, “The Splendid Table.” But those of us who’ve been living on the Front Range for awhile remember Kasper for her Denver cooking school after she moved here in 1976. The radio show (airing locally at 2 p.m. Sundays on KUNC) is an entertaining mix of how-to and what to eat and includes Roadfood reports from Jane and Michael Stern.
The program grew out of the success of Kasper’s iconic book, “The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food” (William Morrow), a wonderful volume that won a slew of national awards.
On the 20th anniversary of its publication, here’s a recipe from the book:
Salad with Fresh Herbs, Prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salad:
1 medium red onion, sliced into thin rings
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 small head each romaine, radicchio, red leaf lettuce, and curly endive
1/2 cup (2 ounces) pinenuts, toasted
3 to 4 whole green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 ounces Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler into thin curls
3 ounces thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma, cut in bite-size squares
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
Dressing:
9 large cloves garlic, peeled cut into 1/4-inch dice
About 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 7 tablespoons commercial balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
About 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Working Ahead: The salad can be assembled several hours ahead; cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Serve it lightly chilled. The dressing can be cooked up to several hours ahead. Cover and set aside at room temperature. Reheat just before serving.
Assembling the Salad: Rid the onions of their sharpness by soaking them in the 1/2 cup vinegar about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and dry the lettuces, throwing away any coarse or bruised leaves. Tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, toss the greens with all but 3 tablespoons of the pinenuts, most of the scallions, half the cheese, half the prosciutto, and all the basil and parsley. Arrange on a large platter.
Making the Dressing: In an 8-inch skillet, slowly cook the garlic with a light sprinkling of salt and generous grindings of pepper in the olive oil over very low heat 8 minutes, or until barely colored. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Remove skillet from heat and set aside. In a small saucepan, boil together the balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and sugar until reduced by about one third. Stir in the reserved garlic, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve. Rewarm the olive oil and the vinegar separately then whisk together in a small saucepan. Taste for seasoning and sweet/tart balance, taking care not to burn your tongue. Add more vinegar and/or sugar if necessary.
To Serve: Top with drained red onion, and scatter the rest of the scallions, pinenuts, cheese, and prosciutto over the salad. Spoon the warm dressing over the salad and serve. Yield: 6 to 8 generous servings as an antipasto.
Information and more recipes are available at splendidtable.publicradio.org.