The perfect food blogger would never resort to using pre-washed greens, buying instead produce exclusively from the farmer’s market, each leaf washed with loving care. However, I am not ashamed to confess this particular sin. Quite the contrary, the bag of organic “mixed greens” found in most grocery stores is one of my best friends, because it makes life so much easier. To my delight, the latest issue of Fine Cooking had an article devoted to redeeming sinners like me: it offered several options of salad recipes that, starting from those handy bags, turn them up into something special. I intend to try all of them, but my first choice was the one featuring a ginger-yogurt dressing and fresh cucumber. I can never resist the call of ginger. 😉
MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH CUCUMBER, ALMONDS, AND GINGER-YOGURT VINAIGRETTE
(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine, July 2012)
1-1/2 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. finely chopped shallot
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2 tsp. thinly sliced mint leaves
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
5 oz. (5 cups) mixed baby greens
1 small English cucumber, peeled, sliced
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, shallot, ginger, mint, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the yogurt and olive oil.
In a large bowl, season the greens and cucumbers with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper and toss with enough dressing to lightly coat. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top, and serve right away.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
The original recipe called for sesame seeds instead of almonds, but I like to have extra crunch in my salad, and felt that the sesame seeds would more or less disappear through the mix. I also used non-fat yogurt in place of low-fat, because that’s what we had laying around in the fridge. The dressing turned out light, with the mint and ginger bringing a nice zing to it. Great, simple salad, perfect way to doctor up those bags that may find their way into your grocery cart… 😉 Extra-vinaigrette keeps well for a day, the flavors intensify a bit.
Because Fine Cooking doesn’t make their recipes available online for non-subscribers, a while ago I contacted the magazine to know their thoughts on copyright issues. Here’s the deal: they don’t mind bloggers publishing any of their recipes, as long as full credit is given and a link to the magazine is included, so that’s what I’ve been doing, without guilty feelings. Except, of course, the guilt of buying that eventual bag of salad greens. Pre-washed. 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Cracked Wheat Sandwich Bread
TWO YEARS AGO: Au Revoir, my Bewitching Kitchen
THREE YEARS AGO: French Bread
Bewitching Kitchen 