The weather is decidedly summery even though it is right smack in the middle of winter. While I'm worried about drought conditions, I'm taking advantage by eating light foods that remind me of 6 months ago. Last night I made a butter lettuce salad with shredded carrots, roasted sunflower seeds and crumbled goat cheese (pictured below before it was dressed). As I was dressing it with a homemade citrus dressing, I realized that I typically make my own dressing because salad dressings are particularly challenging for us non-garlic and onion eaters-- dried powders of these are often the very last ingredient. It's very sneaky and often disappointing. So in defense of salad, here a few of my favorite recipes. You'll notice I like to balance savory and sweet.
Citrus Vinaigrette
Juice of 1/2 large tangerine
Juice of 1/3 meyer lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
splash rice vinegar
pinch salt (again, I like herby salt)
3 grinds pepper
Fruity Balsamic
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I prefer fig infused)
1 tablespoon fruit jam (I'm preferential to raspberry)
a few squeezes of lemon
optional: 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
Miso dressing
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
3-5 drops sesame oil
½ teaspoon corriander
a few squeezes from a fresh lemon
to make it more spicy/savory:
4 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cumin
Note: this is almost exactly my tahini dressing from the udon noodle recipe- they are almost interchangeable
Citrus Vinaigrette
Juice of 1/2 large tangerine
Juice of 1/3 meyer lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
splash rice vinegar
pinch salt (again, I like herby salt)
3 grinds pepper
Fruity Balsamic
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I prefer fig infused)
1 tablespoon fruit jam (I'm preferential to raspberry)
a few squeezes of lemon
optional: 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
Miso dressing
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
3-5 drops sesame oil
½ teaspoon corriander
a few squeezes from a fresh lemon
to make it more spicy/savory:
4 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cumin
Note: this is almost exactly my tahini dressing from the udon noodle recipe- they are almost interchangeable