Warm Spinach Salad with a Touch of Purple
From Sarah Voiland, 2009
One time I went to a restaurant and had a salad featuring an amazing hot dressing over spinach, and it came to me today that I wanted to eat it! At the time, I stopped the waiter and wrote down the ingredients, but they’re long lost now. So this is the reimagining with spring ingredients.
Dressing:
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 ts Dijon mustard (optional)
A bunch worth of Chive Flowers
A handful of chopped Chives
salt and pepper
Salad:
Spinach
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced (optional, could also use tempeh sauteed with tamari)
Radishes, sliced into thin rounds, even maybe done with a peeler.
Put olive oil and chive flowers in a pan over medium heat. Saute flowers until wilted. Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and bring to a boil.
Toss a good handful of spinach in the pan and stir it around for half a minute, then pour it all over the rest of your spinach. Garnish with slices of egg and thin shavings of radish. Salt and pepper on top if needed.
Dilly Slaw
4 cups shredded veggies (carrots, Hakurei turnips, radish, kohlrabi)
5 scallions, chopped
Dressing:
3⁄4 cup yogurt or 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. lime juice
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1⁄4 cup dill
1 tsp. salt
3 garlic scapes or cloves of garlic, minced
Blend dressing and toss with veggies. If time, let chill and stir occasionally so the dressing can soak into the veggies.
Creamy Roasted Tomato & Basil Dressing
From Red Fire Farm Chef Kristen Schafenacker, 2007
1 tomato
1-2 sprigs basil
1 sprig Rosemary
1⁄4 cup oil
1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
1⁄2 cup tahini
1 clove garlic
salt to taste
Broil tomato on high for 10 minutes. In a food processor or blender, add remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. Chill to room temperature or cooler.
Warm Dressing with Shallots
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c cider vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
2 ts Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
salt and pepper
Shake ingredients together and place in a small pan. Heat until shallots begin to have an aroma.
Strawberry Vinaigrette
As served at the annual Strawberry Soiree in 2009
1 qt. fresh strawberries
3 garlic scapes
½ cup olive or other veggie oil
½ cup vinegar of choice
1 Tbs salt
¼ cup water
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Rosemary Vinaigrette
1 stem of rosemary, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Shake or stir ingredients together in a jar.
Crunchy Spring Salad with Herb Vinagrette
Spring Herb Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp honey or other sweetener
1/4 c white wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
a handful of chopped garlic chives or regular chives
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp fresh chopped oregano
1 tsp or so fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Makes more dressing than needed for one salad. Combine honey and vinegar in a bowl. Then, whisking constantly, slowly pour the olive oil in a thin stream. Season with the herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
If you have a chive bunch with blooming flowers on it, you can decorate the top of the salad by breaking up the flowers into their tiny purple florets.
Crunchy Spring Salad:
1-2 heads of lettuce – select varieties with good ribs, like romaine, little gems, or butterhead
1 large cucumber, cut in half longwise and then into relatively thick or 1/8th of an inch-ish pieces
7 red radishes sliced
a handful of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or other nuts
Rip or chop up lettuces, and toss salad ingredients together. Toss with some of the dressing, or have each person dress themselves 🙂
