3 Easy Recipes to Dress up your Salad Greens

Jun 25

If you’re like me, you LOVE a salad every day all through the summer!

Now don’t even think of using that store bought dressing. Not only does it taste inferior to your homemade variety, but it can be loaded with yucky additives, fillers and undesirable oils.

Honestly, if I'm short on time I'll just have a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and Grand Reserve Balsamic on our dinner table to drizzle on top.

BUT, if I want something a little extra special I'll whisk up one of the following quick and easy recipes.

ANYONE can make these at home and they sure will dress up your greens!

Simple Garden Salad

Carefully wash and dry:

4 generous handfuls of salad greens (use any of the following combinations: lettuce, salad mix, mustard mix, arugula, spinach)

Mix together then whisk thoroughly:

1 garlic clove

1 T vinegar (use red wine, white wine, apple cider or balsamic vinegar)

Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

3-4 T olive oil

Put salad greens in a large bowl, add about three quarters of the vinaigrette, toss and taste. Add more dressing if needed.

(adapted from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food)

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients in a sealable container, cover securely and shake until emulsified. Or whisk thoroughly in a small bowl. Taste to season. Add more salt or fresh ground pepper as needed.

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

1/4 C balsamic vinegar (my favorite is Napa Valley Naturals Balsamic Grand Reserve)

1T maple syrup or honey

1 T Dijon mustard (to emulsify)

2 T minced herbs (choice of whatever is fresh in the garden: chives, shallot, green onion, oregano, thyme, etc)

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Makes about 6 oz of dressing. Store unused dressing in refrigerator for future use. Bring to room temperature before using as oil will have thickened.

(adapted from Farm Fresh and Fast cookbook)

Asian Wasabi Vinaigrette

In a small bowl whisk together:

2 t wasabi powder

2 t water

(if you're not a fan of wasabi, you can omit these ingredients and just skip to the next step)

Stir the following ingredients into the wasabi mixture:

1 T minced garlic or green onions

1 1/2 T honey

1 1/2 T rice vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1/3 C orange juice

Slowly pour into the above mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly:

1/4 toasted sesame oil

Garnish salad with:

1 T sesame seeds

Make this into a full meal by:

Tossing in other seasonal veggies (peppers, sprouts, radish, cherry tomatoes, etc) and topping your salad with grilled wild Alaskan salmon or chicken.