When we left Italy in December to return to North America for the winter, the one thing I knew I really was going to miss were the local street markets. These markets rotated from town to town each day of the week, and on average we would visit a market at least three times a week to buy all of our fresh seasonal produce.
Once stateside though, I was thrilled to find out that a new farmer’s market had just begun to run every Saturday just a block away from our house. There are a number of different booths at this market selling everything from fresh plants, baked goods, olive oil and fresh seafood, but what excited me most was to see the booths selling fresh, seasonal organically grown produce.
We now visit the market almost every Saturday and I usually cannot help myself and end up buying a couple of bags full of fresh greens and freshly picked vegetables. One farmer even has every lettuce you could imagine for sale, and these amazing greens inspire me weekly to create what I now call my “Farmer’s Market Salad”.
A salad does not have to be boring, although most folks think a salad is simply a handful of lettuce, perhaps a tomato, cucumber and maybe a chopped green onion or two. Once you start with some really great fresh crisp greens though you can add a myriad of other fruits and vegetables to create a unique and delicious salad no one could ever call boring.
My salad changes weekly depending on what market vegetables catch my eye, but the salad in the photo includes a variety of greens, yellow cherry tomatoes, icicle radishes, roasted beets, blanched green beans, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, and chopped fresh fennel, all dressed with a zesty dijon herb vinaigrette (see dressing recipe below). You can choose your own salad favorites, but do try and think of vegetables you normally might not include in your salads.
A Few Of My Favorite Salad Tips
- Begin your market salad with the freshest greens you can find. Choose lettuces with different textures, colors and flavors such as romaine, radicchio, frisée, mache (lamb’s lettuce), arugula, escarole to name just a few of my favorite varieties.
- Roasted vegetables such as beets, sweet peppers, or baby red potatoes are delicious sliced, or cubed onto salad greens.
- Thinly sliced raw vegetables such as mushrooms, fennel, carrots, zucchini, celery and artichokes add a nice crunchy texture to salads. Think also fresh broccoli florets cut into small bite sized pieces.
- Fresh herbs add a delicious earthiness to any salad and some of my favorites are tarragon, chives, sage, basil, mint, dill, and parsley.
- The addition of beans can take a salad from side dish to main course, and canned beans work just fine when thoroughly rinsed. I like to add garbanzo, cannellini, or black beans to my salads.
- Adding nuts gives a salad added texture and crunch. My favorites are walnuts, almonds, pine nuts or pecans.
- Use your leftover stale bread to make your own salad croutons. I slice Italian country bread, cube it and toss it with some olive oil and dried herbs and bake the croutons in a 350 degree F. oven until crisp and golden brown. I rarely ever throw out any leftover bread by using it for breadcrumbs or salad croutons.
- Seasonal fruit is always delicious on salads whether it be crisp apples and pears, or sweet, ripe strawberries, blueberries or citrus sections. If using fresh apples and pears you should toss them in a little lemon water to prevent any discoloration.
- For special occasions or when entertaining you can dress a salad up by garnishing it with edible flowers. Some flowers I like to use are nasturtiums, pansies, or sage flowers.
- Cheese is always a welcome addition to a salad whether it is a grated hard cheese such as Parmesan or Pecorino, or a soft crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese.
- Although I normally toss a simple green salad with a basic oil and vinegar dressing, I feel my Market Salad requires something with a little more body and flavor so I top it with this tasty Herb Dijon Dressing (see below) which goes well with almost any vegetables.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Herb Dijon Vinaigrette
A vibrant flavored dressing for fresh vegetable salads.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Wine Vinegar (I Use Both Red & White Depending On My Mood)
- 6 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Herbs (Any Combination Of Chives, Basil, Tarragon, Parsley, Mint, or Thyme)
- Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
- Whisk ingredients together until well blended and drizzle onto or toss with your salad.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 248mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g