Sunday, March 8, 2009

Arugula, Fennel, and Grape Salad *Recipe #27 - Page 237*

I made this salad last week sometime but have to confess that I have spent a couple days obsessed with facebook. If you haven't joined that, then you should. Anyway, this salad was very light and refreshing. I had never ate arugula before and I had never made a salad dressing either. Making the salad was so quick and easy that I was kind of mad that I hadn't tried this recipe earlier. I chilled my salad plates and made sure everything was good and cold. Then I tossed the salad in a separate bowl altogether. This really made a difference. I felt like I was eating a salad that had been ordered from a restaurant.

Vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Combine lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking until the mixture has emulsified. Season with sugar, about 1/2 salt, and black pepper.

For the salad:
1 small fennel bulb
4 cups packed baby arugula
1 cup red seedless grapes
1/2 cup roasted cashews
Wash fennel bulb. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave the fennel lengthwise so each piece is still held together by the root. Drop shaved fennel pieces in a large bowl of ice water for 1 minute to crisp; drain and dry.

When ready to serve, toss fennel, arugula, grapes, and cashews together in a large salad. Toss salad with vinaigrette, to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy this salad as part of a healthy diet. I had this salad twice for lunch this week and lost another 2 pounds.

3 comments:

  1. This does sound great! I am loving the red grapes... I really need to get some and start cooking!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bummer, should have bought some grapes today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great job on your diet! Don't you just love Arugula!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! At the moment I am having a huge problem with spam so I've had to add comment moderation and close off comments to anonymous users. I apologize for the trouble and hope to return my comments to normal shortly.