Belgian Beer Week! Composed Salad with Lambrucha-Chervil Vinaigrette {Powernap}

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Composed salads are one of those wonderful, healthy sides dishes that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Mine the crisper for whatever vegetables are hanging around, arrange them on a platter, drizzle a fresh vinaigrette over top and you’re good! Wendy and I had dreamt this up for our virtual Belgian picnic because it is a popular European way of serving fresh vegetables. In many ways a good composed salad can be a meal in itself. In this instance we viewed the Beer Marinated Pork Tenderloin as the main course, with this as the hefty side.

These salads can be made any number of ways. Use whatever you have around and lay them out on your platter of choice. In this case I used a selected of mixed greens, endive (which originated in Belgium!), radishes, strawberries and walnuts. To pull everything together I chose to make a tangy vinaigrette with the Lambrucha beer. It bubbles like champagne and adds a lot of zing to salad. I also added in a bunch of finely chopped chervil for some green, and because it is another very popular European herb.

This salad came together in a matter of minutes. If I had needed to save time I could have easily made the vinaigrette during naptime so it is already on hand for that evening. Either way, it was very simple and rounded out the meal perfectly. With a glass of Foret and a slice of pork our Belgian picnic was complete!

Composed Salad with Lambrucha-Chervil Vinaigrette

1	handful lettuces
2	heads endive
1	small onion, seeded and roughly chopped
½	cup fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
½	cup walnuts
½	cup fresh radishes
2	tablespoons lambrucha
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	tablespoon red wine vinegar
1	pinch salt
1	teaspoon freshly chopped chervil

 

1. Arrange the ingredients on a plate in as desired, but do not toss them together.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the lambrucha, chervil, red wine vinegar and salt. Pour in the olive oil in a thin stream and whisk continuously until the dressing is fully emulsified.  Drizzle over the salad and serve!

 

Any kind of vegetable, cheese or nut works well in a composed salad. Be sure to balance for flavor and texture to create an interesting salad.

10 minutes to prep!

 

 

My daughter loved this because she could pick out the strawberries and walnuts whilst avoiding the radishes!

• Main Courses, Salads & Side Dishes
• Chervil, Lettuce, Radishes, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Walnuts

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