Last weekend we had our final cooking class for the season at the restaurant. A lovely young bride with her wedding party joined me in the kitchen and we explored several healthy and economical culinary options. Her menu was devoid of meat, dairy and gluten and you are probably wondering what we cooked! Herbed garden salad with homemade vinaigrette along with garden risotto and a gluten-free chocolate cake with Merlot ganache.
However, the most accessible and versatile part of the menu was the salad and the dressing. Fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice, apple cider or pomegranate vinegar, fresh Thyme or cilantro, each ingredient is a moving part in an experience. The citrus and the flavor of the oils can enhance a stack of tomatoes or cucumbers, some kernels of corn or peas and a few cubes of tofu, cheese, grilled chicken or poached salmon making every combination an event.
Salad in a mason jar becomes a movable feast of sorts. The dressing at the bottom, with the firm veggies or protein submerged in the dressing along with the tender greens harbored at the top is a kind of seasonal culinary bouquet. Perfect for a cook-out, portable lunch or as a #NoFoodWaste receptical for leftovers, a fresh vinaigrette and a mason jar will make every salad the perfect meal.
Happy salad month!
Layering Salad Jars:
1) BOTTOM – dressing/liquid
2) Heavy ingredients that hold up well when submerged in dressing – beans, cucumbers, radishes, onion..
3) Heavy items that you may not want directly touching the dressing when stored.
4) Leafy greens/light ingredients that take up a lot of space – spinach, kale, chard, arugula..
5) A small amount of heavy accent items – nuts, seeds, dried fruit, croutons, accent spices
6) TOP – colorful ingredients to perk up your taste buds when you pop open the jar – fruit, edible flowers, herbs..
Other: grains and pasta are nice add ins. I like to put these on top of the plentiful salad so that it doesn’t get soggy in the dressing but helps to weigh the greens down a bit so I can fit more yummy stuff in each jar.
Ingredients
Quick Garden Herb Vinaigrette
diced persian cucumbers
diced tomato
arugula + baby spinach
raw pistachios
