Thursday, March 15, 2012

Spring has sprung and I want salad

This kind of weather always gets me in the mood for a delicious "summer" salad. Although, I like this kind of salad at any time of the year.

I have to credit my mom's friend Rose for this (adapted) recipe.

Usually I'm not into making my own dressings. They don't always turn out and I absolutely love Renee's dressings anyway. Why bother to make a dressing when the ones you can buy are so delicious? But, this one was an absolute hit. It's easy to make and you can keep the leftovers in the fridge for salads in the future (and you will have leftovers because this makes a lot of dressing).

For the dressing:
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (you could probably use any light vinegar like apple cider or white wine)
1/3 cup of grapeseed oil (vegetable or olive would work too)
1/3 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
s & p


Tip: Using the same measuring cup, measure the ingredients in this order: First, vinegar; second, oil; third, syrup. This way, the oil will kind of lubricate the cup and the maple syrup won't stick!


Mix all ingredients in a sealable container and then give it a good shake!


For the salad:

Mixed greens (or baby spinach)
1/4 cup red onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup (or as much as you want) of a mixture of blackberries and raspberries (this is what I used because it's what I had and what I like but you can use mandarin orange segments or blueberries)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts


Now, just toss the mixed greens in a bowl with the dressing (I used about 1/3 of the container) and then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on the top. You can toss it all together if you'd like but sometimes the toppings end up all at the bottom. I think it makes for a prettier salad if they're all sprinkled at the top.

My sister LOVED this salad and she's not typically into salads (unless they're Caesar). She also doesn't usually like onions and she actually really liked them in this!

So pretty :)




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