Bon Appetit's Arugula Salad With Lemon-Parmesan Dressing

Found on the epicurious.com website via Bon Appetit April 2009. "(This)makes a great side dish, but this salad is even better as a pizza topping. Brush the with olive oil, sprinkle it with sea salt and shredded mozzarella, then bake. When the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with the salad." Note: the lemon flavor in the dressing is very pronounced. *Update 1 January 2012*: I prepared this last week again but had no standard lemons on hand and substituted Meyer lemon juice and zest. Wow! fyi, cg

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• Lemon-Parmesan Dressing

• 1⁄3 cup  freshly grated parmesan cheese (asiago, reggiano, etc. can replace Parmesan if you wish)
• 5  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice (*fresh*!)
• 1  teaspoon  finely grated lemon peel

• Salad

• 4  cups  packed baby arugula (rocket)
• 1  cup  halved cherry tomatoes (I omitted the tomatoes because my main dish contained them) or 2  tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, minced (I omitted the tomatoes because my main dish contained them)
• 1  tablespoon pine nuts (my addition) or 1  tablespoon  chopped walnuts, toasted (my addition)

Directions

1. Blend salad dressing ingredients in a mini food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Cover; chill up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before tossing the dressing with the greens.
2. Combine arugula and tomatoes in large salad bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat.
3. Garnish with pine nuts or walnuts.
4. Servings are estimated.