Get Misipasta's recipe: Arugula, Date & Sicilian Almond Salad

Shockingly simple yet addictive

This salad from Misipasta in Williamsburg, Brooklyn took me by surprise. It’s the best salad I ate in 2024, and it’s also so dang easy to throw together.

The bitter greens are balanced by pops of sweet from the dates, and the thin sliced sicilian almonds provide a satisfying textural crunch.

Recipe difficulty rating: beginner!

Ingredients: (serving size: 4 servings)

• 16 oz baby arugula

• 16 oz mustard greens

• 20 Deglet Noor dates

• 2 cups unsalted Sicilian almonds

• juice of 1 lemon

• 8 tbsp olive oil

Cooking Appliances:

• knife

• cutting board

• pan

• large bowl

• 2 spoons or tongs for mixing salad

Instructions:

Wash and dry salad greens. Cut down the salad leaves so they are bite size. Place them in a large bowl.

Cut each Deglet date in half lengthwise and discard the pit. Then cut each date half into 1/8 inch slices.

Roughly chop Sicilian almonds into pieces (but not crumbs). Warm a pan over low heat. Evenly distribute almond pieces on the pan’s surface by moving the pan in a swirling motion, then let almonds roast for about 5 minutes, until they are lightly browned and express a mild nutty aroma. Remove almond pieces onto a small plate.

To the large bowl of salad greens, add the olive oil in streaks, tossing the salad intermittently to distribute. Squeeze the lemon juice in and toss again.

Transfer 1/4 of your salad mix into your serving bowl, then sprinkle one fourth of the roasted almond crumbs and date slices into the salad. Repeat this step until all the almond crumbs and dates are added. Make sure not to mix the salad as the almonds and dates are added as they tend to clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

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