Not a Big Deal Sorrel Salad

This salad isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind as the most creative thing ever made, but if you haven’t used sorrel in a salad before, you are in for a treat.  It’s bright, lemony and delicious.  This salad is a tasty way to make its acquaintance.  It’s apparently more of a spring thing but I have been able to buy it for the past few weeks at the University District and West Seattle Farmer’s Market.  

Here is some additional information on sorrel and another recipe from another Pacific Northwest food blog, Mixed Greens.

Not a Big Deal Sorrel Salad

• One medium-sized bunch of sorrel (meaning, more than the amount that comes in the clamshell in the store, but not quite as much as, say, a head of red lettuce), with stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 bag of mixed baby greens or head of green leaf or romaine lettuce
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced and throw a pinch of kosher salt on them before throwing them into the bowl
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly (white and green parts)
• 4-5 Radishes, sliced thinly (preferably on the mandoline)

Dressing

• Zest of one orange
• 2 tsp of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 C white wine vinegar    
• 1/4 C Canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of one lemon
• Some chives, thinly snipped (optional, nice if you have them)

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl, and whisk to combine or shake in a jar.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
2. Reserve ¼ of the bag of the baby greens or head of lettuce as overdressing insurance.  
3. Put the remaining ¾ bag/head and all of the other vegetables into a large salad bowl.  
4. Pour about one-third of the dressing over the ingredients, and use tongs to thoroughly turn all of the vegetables over, mixing them evenly amongst each other and covering the surfaces with the dressing.  
5. Taste a leaf. If it tastes perfectly dressed, you have my permission to get all smug about it. 
   
6. If you have somehow still overdressed the salad, use that remaining ¼ bag to help soak up the extra.  If it is still overdressed at this point, I can't help you.  Maybe some croutons? 
   
7. If it is underdressed, pour on a smidge more, but don’t go crazy!  The line between just perfectly dressed and overdressed can be a mere teaspoon!  Treat this like a game of Jenga!  After you pour on this microscopic smidge that seems way too small to have made a difference, turn it all over again and repeat this until your salad is wearing its sexy negligee of dressing.

You will probably have dressing leftover and it should last about a week or so in the fridge.  It might also be nice as a little light sauce for a piece of pan-roasted salmon.

In the version of the salad in this picture, I included orange segments, but I think that was a bit much.