Bring this festive salad to a gathering, baby shower, or picnic in the park.
The ingredients are simple but chosen with intention; i.e., don’t mess with my creation, please, because it won’t be the same—I promise.
Quail eggs taste the same as chicken eggs. They’re tiny, cute, and perfectly bite-size, which is what you want in a chopped salad.
They’re a bit more tedious to peel—nimble fingers and longer nails help—but definitely worth the effort.
Emmenthaler is my favorite hard cheese.
It’s made in Switzerland and France from unpasteurized, partially skimmed cow’s milk. It has a straw-colored interior interlaced with hazelnut-size holes. Its deep, buttery, earthy flavor gives the salad substance and a nice bite.
The other ingredients are bitter (radicchio, green peppers), sweet (tomatoes and cucumbers), brackish (olives), and spicy (habanero peppers, chives).
They make the salad balanced but also pretty, thanks to the purple, red, green, orange, and black color palette.
The delicious, deluxe dressing is made with crème fraiche, a sweet-tangy thickened cream with a silky texture.
Did you know?
You could make it yourself by mixing a cup of heavy cream with two tablespoons of buttermilk? Just let it stand on the kitchen counter for a day or so until it thickens.
PS: I have more salads for you. This one is a little unusual, but so delicious:
Seaweed-Vegetable Salad With Ginger-Lemon Dressing
Now you.
How do you feel about quail eggs? Do you have a favorite chopped salad?
Tell me in the comments.
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Chopped Salad With Quail Eggs
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Vibrant chopped salad with tiny quail eggs, Emmenthaler cheese, fresh vegetables and herbs, with a tangy crème fraiche dressing.
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 quail eggs
- 3 cups chopped radicchio (about 1 small radicchio)
- 1 cup chopped green pepper (about 1 pepper)
- 1 cup diced Emmenthaler cheese
- 1½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1½ cups diced Persian or English cucumber (about 3 Persian cucumbers)
- ½ cup small black olives, pitted
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped habanero or jalapeno pepper
- ¼ cup chopped chives
Crème Fraiche Dressing
- ½ cup crème fraiche
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the quail eggs in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Gently stir the eggs occasionally with chopsticks or fork to make sure the egg yolk stays in the middle.
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Turn the heat off and let stand for 3 more minutes. Drain the water, and place the eggs in an ice bath or cold water to cool.
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Fill a small bowl with water. Crack each egg all over its surface and place in the bowl. Immersing the cracked eggs in water helps with peeling them. Peel the eggs and halve lengthwise with a knife.
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Place the eggs, radicchio, green pepper, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, habanero, and chives in a medium bowl.
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Prepare the dressing by mixing the crème fraiche with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper until smooth.
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Add the dressing to the salad ingredients, and toss until completely coated. The salad will keep refrigerated for up to 2 days.
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