Local Curds & Way-to-go-Salad

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Place your potatoes on a parchment-lined tray and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Once they’re cool, you rip a strip of the skin off one side, turn them over and slip them out of the rest. You can split them lengthwise or you can cut them into thick medallions. If you can’t find pre-roasted and salted pumpkin seeds, toss them in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil over medium heat until they begin to sweat a pinch, heating them for about 5 minutes or until they’re just browned. Toss in a bit of salt and it should stick to these sweaty little friends. Cut half an onion into lengthwise julienne strips, thicker than paper but thinner than a book cover, and you have finished the prep work.
2. The rest is assembly—arugula down first, then the potato. Dollop the cheese around the plate or platter using a spoon. At this point, lightly hit the whole plate with about a teaspoon or so of vinegar, same with the olive oil, and add a little salt. The flavours are already waiting, so we don’t need a hefty dressing, just some sour, fat, and salt to coax them out. The arugula covers the bitter, the cranberries add sweet, and the cheese kindly provides umami—so you have the full set of five tastes—and you’re good to go. Share the onions around the top, same with the cranberries, last is the pumpkin seeds.