The Best salad dressing in the world for spring salads

This is my favorite dressing ever. You will never buy dressing again. All you need for a spring salad is this and your greens and maybe a few sliced radishes.

You do need an immersion blender which is one of the few appliances I feel is pretty essential to the CSA kitchen. It emulsifies the dressing beautifully making a beautiful creamy vinaigrette.

The Sherry vinegar is also pretty essential though you can sub in whatever you have. Sherry vinegar feels fancy but you can get it at Big Y in in the vinegar section and it really ups your salad game.

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 glug maple syrup

1 squirt brown mustard (or any mustard you have on hand)

salt to taste

a few grinds pepper

1 glove garlic, a garlic scape or 1 green garlic, chopped

Add all ingredients to a container (a wide mouthed quart mass jar works great for easy storage). Insert your immersion blender and blend until smooth and creamy. You can also add in some fresh herbs (parsley is great) prior to blending if you like.

Ginger Miso dressing on spring greens

1 C.mayonnaise

1 nub of chopped ginger

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tbs. miso

salt to tast

Washed salad greens

Chopped spring radishes

Combine ingredients all ingredients except lettuce and radishes and blend well with an immersion blender and adjust ingredients to taste. Toss greens and radishes with dressing and enjoy!

Kohlrabi with Apples and Creamy Mustard Dressing

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp coarse grained mustard
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Granny Smith apple
2 lb kohlrabi, peeled and cut into strips

 In a bowl, whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks, and whisk in the lemon juice, the mustard, the parsley, the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the kohlrabi strips and the apple, peeled, cored, and diced, and combine the salad well.

From our friends at Riverland Farm

Napa Cabbage and Tofu Salad

1 (16-ounce) block extra firm tofu (try Vermont Soy from the farm shop)
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot chili oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1-inch piece fresh or frozen ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage
1 cup julienned Asian pear, tossed with juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup julienned French breakfast radishes
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon seeds, toasted

 Rinse and drain tofu. Cut tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices and place between clean kitchen towels (or paper towels). Place a heavy object such as a skillet or cutting board on top to press out excess liquid. Let sit 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, rice vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Cut tofu into 1/2-inch cubes, place in a shallow dish, and cover with half of the dressing. Let marinate for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet and spread the tofu cubes evenly on the sheet. Bake tofu for 15 minutes and flip over. Continue baking for about 10-15 minutes until tofu is toasted and chewy. Remove from oven and let cool.

Toss Napa cabbage, pear, radish, and tofu with the remaining dressing and sprinkle almonds and sesame seeds on top.

Recipe by Emily Ho, thekitchn.com

Warm Beet Salad

2 lbs beets, cooked and sliced
1/4 lb bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4" strips
1 med onion halved and sliced
6 tsp vinegar
1 - 1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Fry bacon and onion in a heavy pan, blot off fat, add other dressing ingredients and simmer about 2 minutes. Add beets and serve to 4. Also good with green beans

Russian Dressing

1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp cottage cheese
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp each mustard and paprika
makes ½ cup

Thousand Island Dressing
Make Russian dressing--chop and add pickles, celery and hard-boiled egg.

Green Goddess Dressing

½ cup yogurt
2 Tbsp oil or mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped parsley, basil, and or cilantro
1 tsp chopped chives
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
a squeeze of garlic
makes about ¾ cup

Blue Cheese Dressing

1 oz. Blue cheese
1 Tbsp oil or mayonnaise
2 Tbsp cottage cheese
¼ cup buttermilk salt and pepper
a drop of pressed garlic
(chopped scallions, chives, or cilantro)
makes ½ cup

Asian Style Spinach Salad

1 pound fresh spinach (1 large bunch) washed and stems trimmed

Dressing:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup choppped scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut oil

Place spinach leaves in a large salad bowl. Thoroughly combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add oil in a steady stream, processing until well blended. Toss dressing with spinach, garnish with mint leaves and/or peanuts and serve. Serves 4.

From: More Recipes from Kitchen Garden

Basil Parmesan Balsalmic Vinagrette

WHISK all ingredients together and serve on green salad or dip bread in this dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

3 - 5 Tablespoons minced basil

1 crushed garlic clove

2 - 3 Tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 ounce parmesan, finely grated

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Orange Cumin Vinagrette

PLACE all ingredients together and mix. Nice when processed in blender, as it gets creamier.

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup orange juice

3 Tablespoons lime juice

1 Tablespoon minced chives, scallions or onions

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup olive, flax, grapeseed or walnut oil

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds (the toasting of the seed really brings out the flavor - worth the effort)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing

PLACE all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Serve over green salad, grains or steamed vegetables.

1/2 pound carrots

1/4 cup peeled, fresh ginger

1/4 cup scallions, red onion or onion

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 cup olive, flax, walnut or peanut oil

1/4 cup water

Green Salad Dressing

 

Ingredients

½ cup plain yogurt (SideHill is our favorite!)
2 Tbsp oil or mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped parsley, basil, arugula, chives, spinach and/or cilantro
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
¼ tsp salt
a squeeze of garlic

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until smooth. Serve over grain or green salad.