| Recipes of the Season
Tossed Green Salad with Herbs
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
1 head lettuce
Salad greens: curly endive, celery cabbage, leaves of spinach, rhubarb chard, sprigs of watercress
1 teaspoon each fresh cut dill, basil, marjoram, chervil
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Take fresh and crisp lettuce, well washed and thoroughly dried. No water should be remain in the fold of a leaf, or the salad will be watery and quick to wilt.
Rub an outsize salad bowl with the garlic, peeled and halved, until there is a good coating well up on all sides. Break the lettuce and greens into the bowl. Snip the herbs small and crush them lightly as you add them to the greens. Measure the oil into a big spoon and sprinkle it over the salad. Dissolve the salt and pepper in the vinegar in the same spoon, and sprinkle this on the salad. Then begin a light and rhythmic tossing, which is more a gentle turning of the greens over and over until every leaf is coated and the seasonings well distributed. Add the chives, taste to see if more salt is needed, then serve. Yields 6-8 servings
Strawberry Spinach Salad
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Sauteed Spinach with Basil
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup (2 ounces) pine nuts
10 ounces fresh spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups fresh basil leaves
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pine nuts and cook until lightly golden, about 3 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium and add the spinach, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook, tossing occasionally with tongs, until the spinach wilts, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add the basil and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Serve immediately
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