Spinach Salad with Hazelnuts, Sunchokes, & Warm Brown Butter

Because this salad is so simple, it can easily be just another mediocre spinach salad — but when the balance of the apple cider vinegar, brown butter, and Dijon is just right, it becomes truly magical. The key is to brown the butter a little further than you may think so it’s nutty and toasty. It shouldn’t be just golden brown — but deep brown on the verge of being burnt. The apple cider vinegar also needs to be very good quality. We only use Condimela Apple Cider Vinegar from Mengazzoli, Italy which is more viscous than Bragg’s and adds a richness and depth to the vinaigrette.

The salad needs to be made a la minute and won’t hold up if made ahead of time. At Grand Cafe, we had about a 1-minute window of sending it out to guests before it lost its magic and needed to be re-made.

Spinach Salad with Hazelnuts, Sunchokes, & Warm Brown Butter
serves 4

shopping list —

for the spinach salad —

• 8 oz baby spinach

• 1 pound sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes)

• 4 oz hazelnuts, toasted and crushed into halves

• canola oil

for the brown butter vinaigrette —

• 4-5 tbsp brown butter

• 2-3 tbsp good quality apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp minced shallot

• salt to taste

equipment —

• bowl

• whisk

• pot

• mandoline

steps —

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Scrub the sunchokes and slice them into 1/2” slices. Toss the sunchokes with oil and season with salt. Roast for about 30-40 minutes on a sheet tray, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender.

2. Meanwhile, brown the butter for the vinaigrette in a pan, stirring often so the butter solids don’t burn on the bottom of the pot. It should be toasty and deep brown. Allow to cool slightly, but the butter needs to be warm for the salad.

3. Bring out the spinach to room temperature so the vinaigrette won’t seize up on the cold greens.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, minced shallot, Dijon mustard, and salt. Whisk together.

5. Add the warm brown butter, including the butter solids, to the vinegar while whisking. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be bright and flavorful with a good balance of vinegar and butter.

6. Add the spinach, half of the sunchokes, and half of the hazelnuts and gently fold and mix the greens so the vinaigrette evenly coats the leaves. Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning if needed.

   *The spinach should soften just slightly from the warm brown butter — but it shouldn’t be too hot or it’ll make the spinach wilt. Drizzle a little brown butter over top at the end of mixing to soften the spinach more if needed.

7. Plate the salad and finish with the remaining sunchokes and hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

P.S. Jamie wrote this version for Food & Wine while on a plane, which evolved into the one we served at Grand Cafe:)