To my mind, there is nothing that says “spring” like a salad of fresh, baby greens dressed with herbs, olive oil, and vinegar.
Lettuce belongs to the plant family that includes daisies and thistles, and has been cultivated for thousands of years. In our any-food-any-time culture, we are accustomed to lettuce year round. Yet until our lifetimes, fresh salad greens could only be had in season.
My great-grandmother’s kitchen garden manual devotes many pages to the management of hot beds and cold frames to provide fresh vegetables for the table in all but the coldest months. And in 19th century market gardens on the outskirts of Paris, acres of many varieties of greens were grown under glass in order to satisfy the appetites of winter-weary Parisians.
With the modern development of large-scale food production our choice in the market narrowed to a shadow of the rich diversity we used to know. Growers have responded to consumer demand for more variety, offering “gourmet” salad greens and mesclun mixes which include beet greens and arugula; chicory and Asian greens as well as lettuce. But most commercial salad greens still travel enormous distances from farm to table, losing flavor and vital nutrients along the way.
Luckily for us, we don’t have to wait for the Farmer’s Market or our own garden plot to enjoy really fresh salad greens. Cindy Rubinfine and David Blanchard of Flying Pond Farm in Vienna produce greens throughout the year and tomatoes seasonally in their two wood-heated greenhouses. Their certified organic produce is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. A below-ground system of hoses circulating warm water keeps the soil at a comfortable 70 degrees, and the plants respond with vigorous growth.
When I visited the farm recently on a dark, sleety day, David remarked that farming has become more difficult in New England because of changing weather patterns, and for most farmers the margins are slim. “Our food system is built on cheap fuel,” he noted wryly. “There is going to come a point when local is not just a nice idea, but essential to our existence.”
For customers who line up to buy their greens on the days they deliver to market, it was a blow to learn that Cindy and David will be leaving us in July to settle in Nova Scotia, where David plans to deepen his already impressive understanding of entomology at Dalhousie University—his research interest is biological pest control (the good bugs that control the bad bugs). We wish them well, and hope that the new owners of Flying Pond Farm will continue to provide us with deliciously fresh, spirit-lifting greens.
Dressing the Greens
The freshness and delicacy of a green salad calls for a simple French dressing-- known as a vinaigrette-- made with the freshest oil, the best vinegar or fresh lemon juice, and fresh herbs. (Spicy bottled dressings and ingredients such as mayonnaise and catsup will overwhelm the flavors of the tender greens.)
Vinaigrette for 2/3 cup, enough for 6 – 8 servings
¼ teaspoon of salt, or more if needed
½ TBL Dijon mustard
2 ½ - 3 TBL blueberry or good red wine vinegar
½ cup best quality oil
Freshly ground pepper
Herbs (optional)
In a small mixing bowl beat the mustard and salt with 2 ½ TBL of vinegar. When fully blended, add the oil drop by drop, whisking with a small wire whisk or fork until the mixture thickens to a smooth emulsion. Beat in more droplets of vinegar and salt to taste. Stir in chopped herbs, if desired.
Dress salad greens right before serving, tossing well.
I often made my vinaigrette right in the salad bowl, and add the greens lightly on top before sitting down. I wait to toss the salad until the moment of serving. This method saves last minute fluster when entertaining.
A note on amounts: When figuring how much salad to serve, I have found that a generous handful of greens is enough for one person, unless you expect your guests to have more than one helping!
Lemon Vinaigrette
Mince two strips of fresh lemon peel very finely with the salt; scrape it into a bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Add mustard and substitute freshly squeezed lemon juice for the vinegar, and proceed with the vinaigrette recipe.
A Vinaigrette Primer
The Oil
Buy the best oil you can afford, and always test any oil for freshness—a rancid oil will ruin your salad. I prefer Italian cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil for its lightness and fragrance. When shopping, read the labels. Less expensive oils are frequently bottled in Italy from olives produced in other countries. Use these lesser quality oils for cooking, and save the more expensive extra virgin oil for salads and flavorings.
If you don’t like the taste of olive oil, a mild, good-quality salad oil such as cold pressed canola will do.
Vinegar and Lemon Juice
In France, the best wine vinegars are reserved for vinaigrettes. Because I like to cook with regional food, I regularly use blueberry vinegar, which has a delightful fruitiness and just the right amount of acidity for a delicate green salad.
Balsamic vinegar is too strong for delicate greens, and should be reserved for salads of spicy greens with intense flavor, such as arugula, dandelion and the chicories. A few drops of balsamic mixed with lemon juice goes a long way.
Vinaigrettes can be made with vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, or a combination of the two. Lemon juice alone gives the dressing a light, crisp, summery taste. For more zing you can mince or puree lemon zest into your dressing.
Proportions
The standard proportion of vinegar or lemon juice to oil is 1 vinegar to 3 oil, but you’ll need to establish your own relationship. With a light vinegar or lemon juice I generally use 1: 2 ½.
Mustard
A teaspoon or so of Dijon style mustard goes well in a vinaigrette, and helps to emulsify the ingredients.
Garlic, Scallions and Shallots
Finely minced, these are welcome additions to a vinaigrette, but use only one at a time! Mashed, minced garlic also helps emulsify the vinaigrette. If using garlic, mince and mash the garlic with the lemon peel or alone with the salt if using vinegar. Omit lemon peel with scallions or shallots.
Herbs
Fresh minced herbs add aroma and flavor to a green salad. Good choices are parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro. Basil’s intense aroma is best brought out by mincing it with salt at the beginning of vinaigrette making. The others can be stirred into the completed sauce, or sprinkled on the greens before dressing.
Lettuce belongs to the plant family that includes daisies and thistles, and has been cultivated for thousands of years. In our any-food-any-time culture, we are accustomed to lettuce year round. Yet until our lifetimes, fresh salad greens could only be had in season.
My great-grandmother’s kitchen garden manual devotes many pages to the management of hot beds and cold frames to provide fresh vegetables for the table in all but the coldest months. And in 19th century market gardens on the outskirts of Paris, acres of many varieties of greens were grown under glass in order to satisfy the appetites of winter-weary Parisians.
With the modern development of large-scale food production our choice in the market narrowed to a shadow of the rich diversity we used to know. Growers have responded to consumer demand for more variety, offering “gourmet” salad greens and mesclun mixes which include beet greens and arugula; chicory and Asian greens as well as lettuce. But most commercial salad greens still travel enormous distances from farm to table, losing flavor and vital nutrients along the way.
Luckily for us, we don’t have to wait for the Farmer’s Market or our own garden plot to enjoy really fresh salad greens. Cindy Rubinfine and David Blanchard of Flying Pond Farm in Vienna produce greens throughout the year and tomatoes seasonally in their two wood-heated greenhouses. Their certified organic produce is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. A below-ground system of hoses circulating warm water keeps the soil at a comfortable 70 degrees, and the plants respond with vigorous growth.
When I visited the farm recently on a dark, sleety day, David remarked that farming has become more difficult in New England because of changing weather patterns, and for most farmers the margins are slim. “Our food system is built on cheap fuel,” he noted wryly. “There is going to come a point when local is not just a nice idea, but essential to our existence.”
For customers who line up to buy their greens on the days they deliver to market, it was a blow to learn that Cindy and David will be leaving us in July to settle in Nova Scotia, where David plans to deepen his already impressive understanding of entomology at Dalhousie University—his research interest is biological pest control (the good bugs that control the bad bugs). We wish them well, and hope that the new owners of Flying Pond Farm will continue to provide us with deliciously fresh, spirit-lifting greens.
Dressing the Greens
The freshness and delicacy of a green salad calls for a simple French dressing-- known as a vinaigrette-- made with the freshest oil, the best vinegar or fresh lemon juice, and fresh herbs. (Spicy bottled dressings and ingredients such as mayonnaise and catsup will overwhelm the flavors of the tender greens.)
Vinaigrette for 2/3 cup, enough for 6 – 8 servings
¼ teaspoon of salt, or more if needed
½ TBL Dijon mustard
2 ½ - 3 TBL blueberry or good red wine vinegar
½ cup best quality oil
Freshly ground pepper
Herbs (optional)
In a small mixing bowl beat the mustard and salt with 2 ½ TBL of vinegar. When fully blended, add the oil drop by drop, whisking with a small wire whisk or fork until the mixture thickens to a smooth emulsion. Beat in more droplets of vinegar and salt to taste. Stir in chopped herbs, if desired.
Dress salad greens right before serving, tossing well.
I often made my vinaigrette right in the salad bowl, and add the greens lightly on top before sitting down. I wait to toss the salad until the moment of serving. This method saves last minute fluster when entertaining.
A note on amounts: When figuring how much salad to serve, I have found that a generous handful of greens is enough for one person, unless you expect your guests to have more than one helping!
Lemon Vinaigrette
Mince two strips of fresh lemon peel very finely with the salt; scrape it into a bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Add mustard and substitute freshly squeezed lemon juice for the vinegar, and proceed with the vinaigrette recipe.
A Vinaigrette Primer
The Oil
Buy the best oil you can afford, and always test any oil for freshness—a rancid oil will ruin your salad. I prefer Italian cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil for its lightness and fragrance. When shopping, read the labels. Less expensive oils are frequently bottled in Italy from olives produced in other countries. Use these lesser quality oils for cooking, and save the more expensive extra virgin oil for salads and flavorings.
If you don’t like the taste of olive oil, a mild, good-quality salad oil such as cold pressed canola will do.
Vinegar and Lemon Juice
In France, the best wine vinegars are reserved for vinaigrettes. Because I like to cook with regional food, I regularly use blueberry vinegar, which has a delightful fruitiness and just the right amount of acidity for a delicate green salad.
Balsamic vinegar is too strong for delicate greens, and should be reserved for salads of spicy greens with intense flavor, such as arugula, dandelion and the chicories. A few drops of balsamic mixed with lemon juice goes a long way.
Vinaigrettes can be made with vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, or a combination of the two. Lemon juice alone gives the dressing a light, crisp, summery taste. For more zing you can mince or puree lemon zest into your dressing.
Proportions
The standard proportion of vinegar or lemon juice to oil is 1 vinegar to 3 oil, but you’ll need to establish your own relationship. With a light vinegar or lemon juice I generally use 1: 2 ½.
Mustard
A teaspoon or so of Dijon style mustard goes well in a vinaigrette, and helps to emulsify the ingredients.
Garlic, Scallions and Shallots
Finely minced, these are welcome additions to a vinaigrette, but use only one at a time! Mashed, minced garlic also helps emulsify the vinaigrette. If using garlic, mince and mash the garlic with the lemon peel or alone with the salt if using vinegar. Omit lemon peel with scallions or shallots.
Herbs
Fresh minced herbs add aroma and flavor to a green salad. Good choices are parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro. Basil’s intense aroma is best brought out by mincing it with salt at the beginning of vinaigrette making. The others can be stirred into the completed sauce, or sprinkled on the greens before dressing.
