Salad of Butter Lettuce, Roast Beets, and Broccoli with Sweet Mustard Dressing

This recipe calls for a sweet mustard spiked dressing, but this combo would really well with an orangey-creamy dressing such as Creamy Orange Dressing (see recipe) or Orange Poppyseed Cream Dressing (see site for recipe). If using an orange based dressing, try adding pistachios or almonds instead of sunflower seeds.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head butter lettuce, cleaned and dried

1 bunch beets, roasted and toss with white balsamic vinegar (see recipe for Roasted Beets on site), cut into 1 cm (3/8ths-inch) dice

2-3 cups broccoli florets cut same size as beets,-OR-peel and cut the stems into same size dice as above*

1/4-cup white balsamic vinegar

2 cups mixed micro-greens

1 scant cup shelled toasted salted sunflower seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Sweet Mustard Dressing (see recipe)

METHOD:

Bring a 3-quart pot of water to boil and salt it well. Place the broccoli florets or stem cubes into a strainer that will fit into the pot. When the water is at full boil, dunk the strainer into the water and blanch the broccoli until it is no longer raw, but not cooked. It should just change to a bright green. Remove from the boiling water and rinse with cold water to arrest the cooking, but not entirely cool the broccoli. Place broccoli in a non-reactive bowl and pour the white balsamic over. Toss to coat and leave to cool 10-15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Put into the refrigerator to chill.

When ready to make the salad, place the drained beets and broccoli into a non-reactive bowl and lightly dress, tossing to combine well.

Tear the lettuce into bite-sized bits and lightly dress, tossing gently to just coat the lettuce. Distribute amongst 4 plates, chilled preferably.

Evenly distribute the beets-broccoli mixture, then add a ¼-cup “pouf” of micro-greens to each salad.

Scatter with sunflower seeds, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Chef’s Notes: * Using florets or stems is preferable in my mind as the florets add a textural and visual foil to the cubes of beets, while using cubed stem adds a color foil but the shapes link the two. Using both stems and florets I feel adds to confusion on the plate, and as this is a straightforward and clean looking dish, I’d go one or the other. Kitchen scissors can make quick work of cutting the florets down to the right size. If you choose to go with the Creamy Orange Dressing, use shelled salted pistachios or roasted unsalted almonds that have been chopped coarsely. Or both.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen