The Simplest Salad
There is an art to keeping things simple. Sometimes we think that we have to make things more complicated in order to feel successful, but I beg to differ. When things are simple (especially a recipe), there’s nowhere to hide your mistakes. To me, when food is prepared simply but successfully, it is even more impressive than the most complicated meal. It shows that the cook has the confidence to let the ingredients shine and take center stage. When it comes to a simple salad like this arugula Parmesan prosciutto salad, the key to success lies in getting the best ingredients and in this case, that means using Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (true aged Italian Parmesan) and getting a few slices of thinly sliced prosciutto.

What is Prosciutto?
Prosciutto is a dry-cured Italian ham. Unlike the cooked ham you might be familiar with at the holidays, prosciutto is not cooked and unlike bacon or speck, prosciutto is not smoked. To make prosciutto, the pork leg is salted for a couple months, pressed to remove moisture as it cures, then washed and hung to dry for several months and then aged. This whole process can take from 9 months to a couple of years to complete, but the result is a salty and slightly sweet treat.
Meredith, this recipe reminds me of one of my favorite salads from California Pizza Kitchen: Arugala with asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes. This is also topped with shaved Parmesan. I wonder if the dressing was the same.
Hi Nancy – I really don’t know. This dressing is so simple with just lemon juice and olive oil. I expect CPK has a dressing that they make ahead of time.
Thanks for the recipe not to be a stickler but that is a piece of Grana Padano not Parmigiano Reggiano – I know they’re similar and can be used interchangeably but there is a big difference to the Italians
Hi Tim. You’re right! That is Grana Padano and yes, there is a big difference to discriminating tastes. I admit I would usually use Parmigiano-Reggiano in a salad like this, but at the time of this photo, I must have only had Grana Padano on hand (which I often buy because it is less expensive and easy to use as grating cheese on pastas).