Passover is upon us, so here's a modern take on the seder ... errr... plate.
When a recipe calls for basil, cilantro or mint or something else, I am often left with -- well -- a whole bunch of whatever herb was called for. Sadly, I do not always use the rest of those mighty tasty herbs and I am left with a yuckie mess that ends up in the -- this is painful to say -- trashcan. This recipe helps with the situation. I urge you not to go out and buy extra herbs for this salad. Just use what you have on hand. For those on the last day of Passover, this is a great way to use up extra karpas and maror. It's almost like dumping the entire seder plate into a salad... Not quite, but almost.1 meduim head of lettuce, arugula or watercress, or about 3 cups
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 cup flat leafed parseley
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup mint
4 tbsp plain chevre*
2 tbsp fresh horse radish, cut into match sticks
2 tbsp roasted, chopped nuts
1 apple
Garlic powder, thyme, pepper corns
Dressing:
2/3 cup red wine vinegar, reserve 2 tbsp
1/3 cup olive oil, reserve 1 tbsp
1 large clove garlic
1 tbsp sugar
If you really want to make this a Seder Salad, grate an egg in and put in 2 tsp. of salt water to the dressing. And what the heck, throw on some seasoned Matzo as "croutons." Also, if you're watching your glycemic index, leave out the sugar. No big difference.
Wash all ingredients thoroughly. Dry. Remove leaves of herbs from stem. Tear leafy green of choice. Toss with leaves of herbs. Next, slice stems into quarter inch nibs, cut apples and horse radish into match stick-sized pieces. Add horse radish and apple to salad. Next, heat 1 tbsp oil in sauce pan. Add spices, pepper corns and herb stems. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add reserved vinegar. Spoon sauted stems into salad. Remove pan from heat and add garlic, crushed and diced, sugar, vinegar and oil. Emulsify together by whisking briskly. Add dressing and toss immediately before serving. Garnish with roasted nuts, a few slices of apples and goat cheese.
*If you find yourself with some extra time, you can roll the goat cheese into marble sized balls. If you have extras, just put them into tupperwear and save in the fridge. They make great appetizers when rolled into diced apple and roasted nuts, smoked paprika, rosemary, thyme or cinnamon sugar.
