; Supermarket Serenade: Green Bean Mesclun Salad with Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Friday, September 12, 2008

Green Bean Mesclun Salad with Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Did you ever have one of those days when you just needed a salad? Maybe you've over indulged a bit (eating a plate of mac and cheese with a full day's worth of fat and calories comes to mind for me). Or perhaps it's a warm day and you just don't want to heat up your kitchen.

Today was a salad day; one for lunch and one for dinner. I made one salad with a bit of supermarket purchased rotisserie chicken on the side and made one without.

One of the many reasons I love making salads, particularly for dinner is that I can adjust them to meet the whole family's needs. The kids, never interested in having just a salad as a meal, can have them on the side. My H and I can choose to just eat the salad or nibble on whatever else the kids are having. With the many bagged varieties available in supermarkets today, salads can be a quick, healthful meal for everyone before rushing out to dance, karate, baseball or whatever.

Super salad tips for families on the go:

Cut vegetables in the morning and store them in zippertop plastic bags with a damp paper towel then salads will be ready to assemble at a moments notice.

On nights when everyone can't eat together, make the salads in individual plastic containers with dressing in small baggies, so everyone can grab one and go.

For lunchbox salads, stuff salad mix into a pita with a bit of shredded cheese and the dressing in a small zipper top plastic bag-no fork needed!

Green Bean Mesclun Salad with Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons minced shallot
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 plus 1 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 cups halved, trimmed green beans
8 cups mesclun greens
1/2 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 thick slices
1 cup diced tomatoes

In a small food processor or blender combine the vinegar, syrup, olive oil, water, shallot, cayenne pepper, salt and 1 tablespoon of the walnuts; process until smooth.

Divide the green beans and the mesclun greens between four salad plates. Scatter the cucumbers and diced tomatoes on top. Drizzle each salad with the dressing and scatter with the remaining walnuts.

Yield: 4 salads


10 comments:

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

This looks like a great salad. And I just purchased some Maple syrup the other day which is up to $20 a bottle. Can you believe it?

Anonymous said...

This looks very tasty. The dressing sounds great.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Veronica,

Beans are just coming into my local farm markets, so this recipe comes at just the right time. It looks absolutely gorgeous!

Maria said...

I make a maple mustard dressing that I love. The recipe is on our blog. Your salad looks terrific! I will write this recipe down.

The Blonde Duck said...

After my weekend in Shreveport, I think this salad is just the thing I need.

Aunt Julie said...

I'm a salad gal, myself. Thanks for the recipe and for the super salad tips! BTW, I'm hosting a Recipe Week on my blog, starting tomorrow. Please stop by and see what's cookin'!

Prudy said...

The dressing sounds like it would be splendind on anything.

Anonymous said...

This sure looks delicious, crispy, fresh... maple mustard.. how original!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey, thanks for visiting me over at WIMFD. Oh my, this is a delicious looking blog... I'll have to come by more often.

kellypea said...

Love the entire idea of this -- so many delicious flavors together...I'm always looking for new salad ideas!