salad

House Vinaigrette

August 25, 2021 by Christina Shoup 2 Comments

Every weekend, usually on Sunday, I have a list of kitchen staples that I prep for the week ahead. Some type of vinaigrette is always at the top of the list. After years of doing this, it remains a key part of feeding my family healthy meals throughout the week. I’m happy they are big salad eaters and I’m certain homemade dressings and keeping at it since they were little has helped a ton. I wrote about this years ago, but a strategy I used with my kids was to allow them to pick out one thing from their salad – almost always this included tomatoes – but this means they ended up learning to eat other food things like radishes, scallions, cucumbers, peppers, chickpeas, nuts and a variety of herbs that they otherwise may not have eaten. To this day, I still have two kids that will always pick out the tomatoes!

This is a flavorful vinaigrette that is delicious on mixed greens with any type of protein – it’s one of my top 3 that I make all the time and a house favorite. Two vinegars that I use the most are sherry and champagne and they can be used interchangeably in this recipe. The honey can be dialed up or down depending on your preference – I have a particular affection for avocado honey that I can occasionally find at my local farmer’s market.

I make a double batch of this in a mason jar and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week. When I am ready to use it, I leave it on the counter and let it come to room temperature while I’m prepping the rest of the salad. On busy days, I’m always thankful I’ve got this in the fridge for a quick meal!

Cheers,

Christina

House Vinaigrette

This is my go-to salad dressing. I make a double batch every single week and it makes putting together a salad for lunch or dinner a snap. When I can get my hands on local avocado honey, I make sure to use that, otherwise, any good, local honey will do.

Course Sauces snd Dressings

Keyword vinaigrette

Author Christina Shoup

Ingredients

2 tbsp champagne or sherry vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add ingredients and shake vigorously.

Mixed Greens with Pecans, Gorgonzola and Apricot Jam Vinaigrette

November 21, 2020 by Christina Shoup Leave a Comment

A perfect salad to begin a meal with or piled on a dinner sized plate next to a crusty baguette or hot cup of creamy soup. This salad is perfect year round and lends itself to many variations. All butter lettuce makes for a wonderful delicate salad, but peppery arugula also works well with this sweeter, flavorful vinaigrette. Sliced persimmons, pears or apples are lovely additions, and glazed or spiced walnuts are a great substitution for the pecans.

If raw red onion offends you like it does my husband, you can tone down the bite of the onion by soaking the slices in a bowl of ice water for 5-10 minutes before draining and adding to the salad. He doesn’t know I do this from time to time, but I can assure you that he doesn’t pick out so many onions when I take the time to do this extra step. Now that’s love, especially when I’m hungry!

Cheers,

Christina

Mixed Greens with Pecans, Gorgonzola and Apricot Vinaigrette

This salad is inspired by a wonderful local restaurant called Stella Alpina Osteria. Their signature butter leaf salad called the "Stella" uses apricot jam in the vinaigrette. My homemade apricot jam that I make every year is put to good use in this delicate and flavorful salad.

Course Salad

Keyword apricot vinaigrette, butter lettuce

Servings 6 servings

Author Christina Shoup

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

2 tbsp champagne vinegar
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 small clove of garlic, minced
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil

Salad

1 head butter lettuce
1 bag mixed spring greens omit and use 2 heads of butter lettuce, if desired
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
¾ cup pecans, toasted or glazed
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup crumbled gorgonzola

Instructions

For the dressing: Add champagne vinegar, apricot jam, garlic, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and olive oil to a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously and taste for seasoning, adding more jam or a drizzle of honey if a sweeter vinaigrette is desired.
For the salad: Separate leaves of the butter lettuce and wash and dry thoroughly. Tear large pieces in half and keep smaller pieces whole. Add butter lettuce and spring greens to a large bowl.
Add onions, pecans, cranberries and crumbled gorgonzola to lettuce.
Add enough dressing to coat the leaves and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Arugula Salad with Tomato, Peach and Roasted Golden Beets

July 17, 2020 by Christina Shoup 1 Comment

For many of us, a simple trip to the farmer’s market can provide such joy these days. The aromas, the array of colors, and the people! Oh how nice it is to see people – outside, masked, and there to support our local farmers and their hard work. Even greater than joy, our health is directly affected by these essential workers by providing fresh, organic produce. The best medicine during a global pandemic! We are so grateful for our farmers.

If a trip to the farmer’s market is on your agenda for the weekend, I would put good money on fresh tomatoes and peaches being part of your haul. They are so SO good right now and I cannot stop eating them. Out of hand is the most common way for me to consume these tasty fruits, but with so much time at home these days, I’ve incorporated some really yummy salad lunches for my husband and me to enjoy.

One of those recent lunches was this arugula salad. All the produce came from a quick Thursday stop at the farmer’s market and provided one of the tastiest salads we’ve had this summer, and we’ve had a lot of them – look for a post soon on all things salad!

The combination of peaches and tomatoes makes perfect sense. You may be familiar with the old saying – what grows together goes together. It could not be more true in this case! The golden beets are roasted and beautiful on the plate – but deep red would be pleasing as well. If you’re feeling spunky, some thinly sliced jalapeno or serrano pepper would be delicious with the peppery arugula. Or add that surprise kick with my favorite salt right now, Jacobsen Salt Co.’s Habanero Salt. So tasty!

So good on avocado toast, tomatoes and sliced melon – almost anything

I hope you have a great weekend and make time to stop at one of your local farmer’s markets!

Cheers,

Christina

Arugula Salad with Tomato, Peach and Roasted Golden Beets + Shallot Vinaigrette

This salad is summer on a plate. Thick juicy tomato wedges, ripe fresh peaches and earthy golden beets meet peppery arugula and creamy goat cheese. Crispy torn bread and crunchy salt pulls the whole dish together. This is a great place to play with different vinegars for the dressing – some of my favorites include sherry and red wine vinegar. Different types of flake salt are also a fun way to change the flavor up a bit – Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Salt or Smoked Maldon Salt sprinkled on the finished plate is a fun flavor surprise.

Course Salad

Keyword beet, peach, salad, tomato

Servings 4 servings

Author Christina Shoup

Ingredients

2 cups arugula
2 peaches, sliced into thick wedges
4 small golden beets, roasted and thinly sliced see note
4 early girl tomatoes, sliced into thick wedges
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup torn croutons see note
¼ cup goat cheese crumbles
flake salt and ground pepper

Shallot Vinaigrette

1 tbsp small shallot, minced
2 tbsp champagne vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp honey
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch Maldon salt, or any coarse flake salt

Instructions

Add shallot and vinegar to a jar with a lid. Let sit 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake.
Working with four dinner sized plates, place beet slices overlapping in a circle.
Scatter peaches and tomatoes around the circle, leaving the middle of the circle empty. Season everything with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, toss the arugula with enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves. Pile the arugula in the center of the circle. Scatter goat cheese and croutons, seasoning with a touch more salt and pepper.

Recipe Notes

For roasted beets – trim stem and root but leave unpeeled. Place in a foil lined roasting pan and add ¼ cup water, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp kosher salt. Cover tightly with foil and roast at 400° until you can pierce the beets with a sharp knife and have little resistance. Let cool enough to handle and using a paper towel, gently rub off skin.

For torn croutons – cut 1 inch thick slices of country bread, or any other sturdy, day-old bread. Trim crust or leave on for a more rustic crouton. Tear each bread slice into sizeable pieces (about 1 inch) and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil enough to coat the bread and toss with a little kosher salt. Bake in a 400° oven for about 20 minutes, turning with a spatula to encourage even browning.