Winter Salad & Shallot Dressing

At least 6 inches of powder fell last night. We'll post and then get on our skis. Can't pass up this perfect snow (25 degrees F.)

The grape arbor looks attractive with snow and before long it will be laden with huge leaves and delicious grapes. Here's what it looks like February 1, 2010.

Today's recipe is an easy colorful salad with a classic vinaigrette (vinegar + oil + salt + pepper). All ingredients are available year around. The salad offers some freshness in the winter season.

I haven't purchased a commercial salad dressing for over 30 years. They are just not to my taste and contain too many unwanted ingredients. They are also costly. Make your own! It is simple to do, and you always know what's in it. Experiment with different herbal seasonings. Combine ingredients in a glass pint jar and store them in the same jar. Saves cleanup!

Basic Vinaigrette (this may be doubled)

1/2 cup best olive oil you can afford
2 tablespoons white vinegar (plain, rice, or wine vinegar all OK)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder (Coleman's, for example)

Option: instead of mustard powder, use a few grains of Wasabi powder for a "secret ingredient" taste. It is quite hot, so start out with about 1/16th of a teaspoon and add from there.

2nd Option: Use FRESH lemon juice instead of white vinegar. A completely different taste.

Shake ingredients thoroughly. To develop more flavor, let dressing stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before tossing salad. Refrigerate leftover dressing. If it solidifies before next use, let stand on the counter for a few minutes and it will return to the liquid state.

For Shallot Dressing (See photo 24 January--home grown shallots in jar)

Peel 3 or 4 medium shallots, and thinly slice across the grain. Depending on size of shallots you should have about 1 generous tablespoon. Use more if you like.

Add the shallot slices to the basic dressing, shake, and let stand a few minutes before service.

Basic Winter Tossed Salad (this amount serves 2 at my house)

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced or chopped FRESH cauliflower
1 Fuji apple, washed, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
salt and ground pepper (any color) to taste

Add dressing just to coat (too much drowns the greens--no dressing should pool in the salad bowl or on the plate) and gently toss with two soup-size spoons. Divide between plates and serve. Please toss your salads before service--pouring on dressing after plating just won't do.

Vegetable options:

Any lettuces you prefer and are able to obtain in winter
Sliced or chopped broccoli
Sliced tomatoes (we use sliced apple or sliced red bell pepper for color when tomatoes are out of season)
Sliced bell peppers
Sliced fresh mushrooms
Shredded or thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup completely thawed frozen peas
leftover cooked vegetables such as asparagus or green beans

Limit to 3 or 4 ingredients --too many and you might end up with a mushy result. Choose ingredients to match your menu. The most elegant salads are the simplest: Perfect Bibb lettuce leaves and the shallot dressing served with a baguette and a little soft cheese can't be topped.

Note: I have excellent luck ordering from http://www.thespicehouse.com/
and http://www.penzeys.com/ for all spices and herbs that I cannot grow myself. Check them out online.

Next time: Let's poach some salmon!

KGC