It may seem counterintuitive to crave a crisp winter salad on a chilly winter day, but chefs around the country are cooking up so many innovative salads that you'll soon find that winter can be the ideal season for a crunchy bowl of greens topped with all sorts of proteins and veggies. They mix in grains and seasonal ingredients from local markets along with innovative textures and flavor profiles by using persimmons and pomegranate seeds, so you can even skip the soup and still have a hearty meal.
Read on as six chefs share their favorite winter salad recipes, all of which you can make at home.
1. The Field Salad
This salad features lightly dressed mixed greens with mint and chervil, topped with a choice of four roasted vegetables, protein and dressing. It was created by Matt Weingarten, culinary director of Dig Inn, a chain of restaurants in New York, who says, "Featuring seasonal roasted vegetables, the field salad is literally built from the ground up. An ode to our community of farmers, this deceptively simple dish allows vibrant produce to steal the show."
The Field Salad
Ingredients
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- Sea salt
- Fresh black pepper
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, chopped
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for vegetables
- 3-4 seasonal vegetable varieties, cut into 1.5-inch slices
- 2 ounces mesclun greens
- 1/2 cup kale leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup mixed micro greens (arugula, mizuna, frilly mustard)
- 1/2 cup mint and chervil leaves, hand torn
- 1 avocado, cut into wedges
- Fresh Parmesan, shaved
- Dressing of choice (optional)
Instructions
- For the dressing, place the shallot, garlic, one-half teaspoon salt, one crack fresh black pepper, rosemary, and vinegar in a blender. Blend on high until pureed.
- Slowly drizzle in the three-quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil to emulsify. Dressing should be light and a little creamy looking. Make sure you taste and adjust seasoning before dressing your leaves.
- For the roasted vegetables, take your cut produce and place in a large bowl. Toss with oil and salt and pepper. For every one-half pound of vegetables you use, you'll need one tablespoon of olive oil, and one-half teaspoon sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper.
- Place vegetables directly into a hot, ungreased pan, or onto your grill. Cook until blistered well on one side, then flip and cook on the other side for 1 more minute, or until barely cooked through. Be careful not to overcook — the vegetables will continue to soften as they cool. Cool vegetables entirely before making the salad.
- For the salad, combine your mesclun mix, micro greens, and kale in a large bowl. Add the mint and chervil leaves.
- Dress the leaves with two to three tablespoons of your pre-made vinaigrette, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the leaves into smaller bowls, garnishing with the vegetables, a wedge of avocado, a few shaves of fresh Parmesan, and an optional drizzle of your favorite dressing.
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