I feel like I have been in the doldrums since early January. It has been particularly dismal recently - dank, damp, drizzling and constantly depressing and I have been searching for an antidote to both my mood and the weather. Should you feel like a salad for supper, this is the perfect anti winter blues solution -- colorful, vibrant and cheerful. And the punchy dressing was a pick me up as well.
The basic premise of this salad is to use as many colors as possible to brighten up your day, and to work with contrasting textures as well. I used a handful of assorted bitter baby leaves, some shredded red cabbage, a sprinkling of tarragon leaves, grape tomatoes, avocado, julienned watermelon radish, chunks of avocado, sunflower seeds and chopped scallion. Use whatever catches your eye at the store and take your time composing this salad. Strange though it may sound, I enjoyed watching the bright colors come together as I assembled the salad.
The dressing is a very punchy one:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp orange juice
2 tsps Dijon mustard
Splash of soy sauce
I usually make my dressing directly in the bottom of the salad bowl before bunging my ingredients in and tossing the salad, which saves on washing up. I made this dressing in an empty mustard jar and shook it until the ingredients emulsify because I wanted to drizzle it over the top of my salad while continuing to admire the happy colors.