Salad Dressing Enthusiasm
13 November 2007
I am a big fan of salad, also beyond the typical spring and summer season. So although it does not seem the obvious choice for autumn I find a nice salad, maybe refined with some mushrooms, very suitable as an appetizer for the colder seasons when main courses tend to get rather rich, such as the venison loin I cooked last week.
To season my day-to-day salad I usually use just olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, a mixture of dried salad herbs, salt and pepper, but when I serve salad as a starter to a larger meal I quite enjoy experimenting with the dressing, in this case combining the usual olive oil essentially with sherry vinegar, mustard, some honey as a contrast to the spicyness and a lot of fresh herbs.
Regarding the measurements in my recipe I have to warn you that I like eating my salad with a lot of dressing - and if I say a lot I mean A LOT. For me the dressing is the most essential part of a salad; or as some would say, I consider the latter rather as a carrier substance than a main ingredient. To which I can only reply that I am neither a cow nor a rabbit and therefore do not appreciate the taste of bare green leaves...
I am of course well aware that eating soaking salad leaves is quite a specific habit of mine and not everybody's taste. When I have guests I usually sprinkle just part of the dressing on the salad and serve the rest in an extra bowl for people to help themselves. Anyawys, it is always useful to have some extra dressing left. You never know if one of your guests is a salad dressing enthusiast like me.
Salad with Mushrooms and Sherry Dressing
| serves 4 as a starter |
| 100g corn salad |
| 200g cocktail tomatoes |
| 200g mushrooms |
| 6 branches of thyme |
| some olive oil for frying |
for the dressing |
| 120ml olive oil |
| 60ml sherry vinegar |
| 60ml white balsamic vinegar |
| 2 teaspoons of spicy mustard |
| 2-3 teaspoons of honey |
| 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley |
| 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped chives |
| some garlic powder |
for garnish |
| 1-2 tablespoons of pine kernels |
| 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds |
Finely slice the mushrooms. Sauté them in a frying pan with some olive oil, the whole branches of thyme and some salt for about five minutes while stirring well to make sure they get evenly cooked. The mushrooms should just be somewhat soft on the outside to develop their flavour, but should still have quite some bite on the inside.
For the salad dressing finely chop the fresh herbs and mix with oil, sherry as well as white balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey. Season to taste with salt and some garlic powder.
Arrange the corn salad and the tomatoes on plates or in little salad bowls, place the mushrooms on top and just before serving sprinkle the dressing over the salad.
To garnish I roasted some pine kernels and pumpkin seeds in a non-stick frying pan without any fat. Be careful when browning the seeds as they tend to burn quite quickly; make sure the pan does not get too hot and stir regularly. I served the seeds in a little dish apart from the salad (hence not on the picture), so they would stay crunchy throughout the meal.
| Suggestions for Entrées | Suggestions for Desserts |
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