Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 12 cups tender lettuces, washed and spun to dry
- ½ cup radishes, cut into thin wedges
- 8 medium, ripe strawberries, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges each
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 recipe Pink-Pickled Vidalia onions
- 1 recipe Quick Candied Pecans
- 1 recipe Green goddess dressing
Pink-Pickled Vidalia Onions
Makes 1 quart of pickled onions.
Ingredients:
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, sliced into rings (optional)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
Directions:
Pack sliced onions into heatproof quart container or mason jar.
Place water, vinegar, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and sliced jalapeño in a pot. Bring just to a boil, and turn off the heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour mixture over onions. Let cool completely at room temperature with the lid off, about 1 hour, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 more hour before using.
Quick Candied Pecans (or other nuts/seeds)
Ingredients:
- ½ cup chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts, or whole cashews or pumpkin seeds, preferably toasted
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Pinch salt
- A few drops of neutral oil, such as canola
Directions:
Place sugar and salt in a dry skillet over medium heat and shake to distribute evenly across the pan. Let sugar melt. Once all of the granules are melted and sugar has turned a light golden caramel, add nuts and a few drops of oil and stir. They will stick together in clusters but you will be able to break them apart later. Turn nuts onto a parchment lined metal pan and let cool completely. Placing the pan of nuts briefly in the freezer will accomplish this quickly. Once they are completely cool, break them apart with your hands. Store up to 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.
Green Goddess Dressing
Yield: Makes 2 cups.
Ingredients:
- Use roughly ¾ of a cup of a combination of fresh, soft herbs for this recipe, using whatever you have available. Chop up the tender stems of basil, parsley and cilantro for more flavor and less waste. Below is a suggested mixture, but a mixture of 3 of these will work just as well.
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup roughly chopped basil
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 2 oil-packed anchovy filets, chopped, or 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
Place all ingredients except salt and pepper in blender, adding a tablespoon or two of water to assist blending if necessary. Blend until smooth and only a few flecks of green remain, scraping down the sides of the blender jar as needed. If too thick, thin out with water to desired consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
After dressing salads, reserve remainder for another use. Can be used as a dipping sauce, sandwich spread, or spooned over fried eggs on avocado toast.
Remaining herbs can be used for more Green Goddess dressing if you are so inclined, made into another sauce such as pesto, chimichurri, or salsa verde, blended with mayo, garlic, and lemon for an aioli, tossed into a frittata or omelet, or used to garnish this salad as well as many other hot and cold dishes.
To assemble salad:
Place 3 cups of tender lettuces in each salad bowl. Top each salad with equal parts radishes, strawberries, candied nuts, avocado, pink pickled Vidalia onions, and dollops of green goddess dressing. Serve.
