When we think of winter, salad is not the first thing that comes to mind.
But some farmers are growing hardy winter greens, and even some early spring plants are being coaxed into harvest in local greenhouses — radishes anyone?
Although cold temperatures pair with soups and stews like bagels go with cream cheese and lox, sometimes you just want a light, fresh, crisp salad. The recipe below is a framework — if you can’t find Korean cabbage, use napa, white or red. No mustard greens around? Try arugula or kale. Radishes are scarce? Grab a raw beet or some carrots.
The key is to use what you can get that is grown locally, or at least fresh, and douse it with the oniony-mustardy dressing, which just might taste good on shoe leather.
There will be extra dressing from the quantities below; save it for a salad tomorrow!
Winter Greens Salad
Serves 2
¼ of a small head of Korean cabbage, chopped
1 handful mustard greens, chopped
1 handful fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 handfuls fresh, large-leaf spinach chopped (not baby — it’s too delicate, and the leaves wilt)
4 radishes, sliced
Dressing:
1 small onion
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, or 1 teaspoon sugar
Generous pinch of salt
Generous grinding of fresh cracked pepper
½ cup olive oil
In a blender or food processor, puree all the dressing ingredients and set it aside.
Place the salad ingredients in a wide, shallow bowl, and drizzle it with about a third of the dressing. Toss well. Add a bit more dressing if needed.
Let the salad sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend.