Laurel & Carol’s Astonishing Salad
6 May 2010 by Jean JohnsonThis is verbatim from Grow Your Own, the third in my measurefree kitchen companion trilogy that comes out this November.
Laurel Robertson, who wrote Laurel’s Kitchen with Carol Flinders, is some kind of woman. This salad is adapted from their pages where they titled it “Astonishing.” I’ve made it many times over the years, and it’s my privilege to translate it into a measure free format.
What I especially like about this vegetarian and vegan approach to a spinach salad is that it springs from the more traditional approach which relies on hot bacon fat to wilt the greens. So smart of Laurel and Carol to figure out a different approach to a warm dressing—a dressing that not only succeeds in taming your fresh garden spinach but also one that is pretty darn sexy with its polite pour of dry white wine.
Laurel & Carol’s Astonishing Salad
Put a handful of dried apricots with slug of dry white wine and squeeze of lemon juice into a pot and bring the works to a simmer. Cut the heat, cover, and let the cots plump up nice and fat in the brew for a half hour or at least while you’re washing your spinach and building your salad.
Tear fresh spinach into bite-sized pieces, slice an apple into paper thin wedges, and cut your apricots into quarters. Whisk some olive oil into the winey brew, season with salt and pepper, and toss your very very very veryest astonishing salad. Garnish with a chop of walnuts and if you have a batch of Astonishing Apricot Muffins ( page 175) made up, grab one to go with.
Also, despite strictures about vinegar being a no-no when you’re drinking or cooking with wine, I was out of lemons when I made this for the photo and found apple cider vinegar pleased my sensibilties entirely. Call me pedestrian if you will…
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One Response to “Laurel & Carol’s Astonishing Salad”
I’m with you on cider vinegar—it provides a flavorful and not too sharp acidity. I like it and use it often. Perhaps the stricture pertains more to wine vinegars.
By Laura Berg on May 6, 2010