In Winter time, most folks are not thinking of going to a farmer's market. I feel very fortunate though, to live in a climate, that the farmer's markets are year round, and I have several good ones on different days of the week that are not too far from my location.
If you do have a farmer's market near your home, I suggest you go even in winter to find all those fruits and vegetables that are so different and wonderful.
Our bodies seem to crave all these citrus fruits in the winter that are so high in Vitamin C. Right now the markets are full of them. So incorporate some of these into your salads.
For the salad pictured above, I used Butter Leaf lettuce, Red D' Anjou pear, toasted Pecans, and Kumquats. The dressing was very simple, good Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
It is the culmination of all these flavors that make this salad great.
Do a little experiment for yourself. Make a deconstructed salad one step at a time. Test for yourself, how the balance of a lettuce salad comes together Different fruits, different nuts, which do you really prefer?
Step 1. Wash lettuce and spin dry. Tear by hand(don't chop) the lettuce into small bite sized pieces.
TASTE
Step 2. Drizzle good Extra Virgin Olive Oil on to greens, toss
TASTE
Step 3. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto greens, toss
TASTE
Step 4. Sprinkle with Salt, toss
TASTE
Step 5. Sprinkle with pepper, toss
TASTE
Step 6. Slice 2 or 3 fruits of choice, Place one lettuce leaf with one bite sized piece of fruit.
TASTE
Step 7 Toast 2 or 3 types of nuts. Place one lettuce leaf with one chopped nut.
TASTE
Now that you have tasted each element of a salad, in a deconstructed manner, I hope that gives you an idea of what the accumulation of all the flavors do to your pallet. Pick your favorite winter fruits and nuts and make a salad. Find something interesting and unusual at your Farmer's market to add to your winter salad. Once combined it will bring a bit of sunshine to your plate.
As Always,
ENJOY!
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