a portable salad
need to take a salad somewhere? it can be a painless procedure if made with arugula, pickled beets, and avocado.
my lovely friend martha invited me to dinner and when i inquired what to bring, she suggested a salad. this pleased me immensely, because i love composing salads and they're very portable. it takes only a moment of prep before you pack it up, and then assemble at your destination.
ingredients:
- arugula
- pea shoots (or any other sprouts)
- pickled beets (i used donovan's cellar ginger spiced beets, and they were super)
- avocado
- ricotta salata cheese
- cashews
- 2 lemons
- olive oil
- a few sprigs of mint
toast your nuts:
- toss a good handful of cashews into a dry pan.
- toast on medium heat, shaking the pan to get all sides browned. takes about 5 minutes.
- when they have completely cooled, chop coarsely and put in your portable container (i used an old jam jar).
make the dressing:
- squeeze 2 lemons into a jar, or dressing bottle.
- add extra virgin olive oil. i like the 1 part acid to 3 parts oil ratio. eyeball it depending on how much juice came from the lemons.
- season with salt and pepper. put a lid on it, and set aside until you leave.
- wash and dry the mint. wrap it in a damp paper towel and keep in the fridge until you leave
pack everything up:
keep the salad leaves and sprouts in their boxes to transport. i downgraded the beets to a smaller jar so they'd be lighter to carry. leave the avocado whole to prevent it from turning brown and cut when you arrive at your destination- don't forget to bring a sharp knife! a paring knife
when you're ready to assemble, put the leaves and sprouts in a big bowl (if the sprouts are long, rip them in half). rip up the mint and add it to the dressing jar. shake it up until it's thick and homogenous. add a light coating of dressing to the leaves and sprouts and toss to combine. peel and pit the avocado. cut into large chunks and add to salad along with the beets, crumbled cheese, and toasted nuts.
