Aaah! Spring is around the corner and, after preparing the yard, deck and house with spring cleaning, the mind wanders to meals on the deck and this is a WONDERFUL way to do it. This will serve 6-8 people.
- 12 cups mixed spring greens, washed and spun dry
- 2 cups baby romaine lettuce,
- 1 head radicchio, shaved
- 1 cup fresh pea shoots
- 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup red seedless grapes, halved
- 1/3 cup each fresh raspberries and blackberries
- 1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
- crumbled goat cheese
Combine the greens, radicchio and pea shoots on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with the pecans, grapes and berries evenly..
Whisk together the raspberry vinegar, olive oil, sugar and drizzle over the platter. Top with the crumbled cheese.
Now serve with warm rolls. friends, sun shining and, oh yes, a glass of wine – chilled perfectly. Spring? Bring it on!
Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad
Salads sound good, especially good when you want to close the blinds and block out the tail end of winter. Think warm, sunny days on the deck…at the lake…having a lazy Sunday….on and on! This will serve 6 guests.
- 6 small beets (3 yelllow and 3 red would be awesome)
- 2 large blood oranges
- Baby mixed spring greens
Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 medium, minced shalot
- 2 pinches of salt
- 2 pinches of pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- few thyme leaves
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap the beets individually in tin foil and bake about 1- 1 1/2 hours until fork tender. Remove beets from oven, unwrap and cool a few minutes before handling. Wearing gloves, peel and slice the beets into eighths. Set aside.
Peel the oranges and remove as much of the pith (white) as you can. Now with a grapefruit knife, remove each segment from their skin.
Place the segments in a bowl. If there is anything left in the skins, squeeze whatever juice you can and sprinkle over the segments in the bowl.
Make the dressing and whisk it all together until well blended.
Now on salad plates, place some of the greens in the centre of each plate. Place some of the beets pieces on each plate (if using yellow and red beets, mix them up), sprinkle the orange segments around the plate and drizzle the dressing over it all.
Warm rolls, glass of crisp, chilled wine…voila! Pure enjoyment in a meal.