It’s true; most people don’t think a salad is the sexiest dish at the party. But you’ll have to admit this Valentine’s salad is pretty adorable.
After a day of play at the gorgeous Antiques and Garden Show this past weekend, friends and out of town guests came over for a little gossip, a bit of wine and, of course some yummy food. I wanted to try out an idea for a Valentine’s dinner 1st course salad. Not only were my guests willing guinea pigs, they were also easily conned into being prep chefs. Don’t let that scare you, the salad is as simple to put together as it is delicious, it was just fun to all be in the kitchen tasting and sharing ideas.
Tarragon in Spring
A good salad starts with a good dressing. Salad dressing to my husband means one thing – Blue cheese. Well, I’m going to rock his world with a new taste – are you ready – Parmesan cheese! The basis for the dressing was tangy buttermilk made extra yummy with one of my favorite herbs, tarragon. Sadly tarragon does not survive the winters in Nashville; happily it’s a perennial and will faithfully return every spring. I finally had the good sense to dry some of my tarragon last fall and have a ready supply for winter. The nice people at the grocery store do that too, so it’s easy for anyone to pick some up! One ingredient that can make almost everyone appreciate a salad is easy to make homemade croutons. When I order salads in restaurants, I ask the waiter to leave off the croutons since they are notoriously hard tasteless cubes of stale bread from a package. Trust me, there are better ways to enjoy a carb! Homemade croutons are so simple. Cut some French bread into cubes, don’t worry about the crusts. Saute in a little butter and olive oil; throw in herbs of choice and – viola - you have REAL croutons. That brings us to another delicious aspect of this salad, crispy garlic chips. I had these on a salad when we were traveling and just fell in love with them. Slowly sautéing thin strips of garlic until just lightly browned makes for a sweet, crunchy, nutty topping for anything from salad to pasta. If you sauté the garlic before making croutons, you have that mild garlic flavor in the oil – heavenly. Since the oil and the skillet were already there, a decision was made to throw in a few chopped almonds for extra crunch. See that’s what happens when you cook in a group, but it was definitely not a mistake.
I know what you’re thinking, this all sounds pretty good, but adorable is a stretch. Just wait! In homage to the other love of my life, my son, who is in California, I decided to include Hearts of Palm, get it – hearts for Valentines, palms for California. AND to up the cuteness factor and get some Valentines color, beautiful red beets. But wait, there’s more – we cut them into heart shapes with a mini cookie cutter. Now that’s an adorable salad.
Here’s the plan for Valentine’s night. Sauté the garlic, croutons, and almonds ahead of time, even in the morning. Make the dressing ahead of time, it keeps for several days, and cut your beets and hearts of palm even a day or two ahead. If you store them together in a container in the fridge, the hearts of palm get pink which is pretty cute. To serve all you need to do is chop up some Romaine lettuce and add your toppings and dressing. Let me tell you, we gobbled this salad right up even knowing that we should save room for the spaghetti and meatballs that were to follow along with homemade tiramisu for dessert. I just love a girl’s night in the kitchen.
Ingredients
Dressing
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp dried tarragon
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
Salad
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, sliced into long strips
2 Tbsp sliced or chopped almonds
4 one inch thick slices of French bread, cut in cubes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt to taste
6 hearts of palm slices from one can (or grocery salad bar)
6 slices of beets from one can (or grocery store salad bar)
Romaine lettuce, chopped
Directions
Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar and give it a good shake.
In a small skillet melt butter and oil together over medium high heat.
Add garlic and cook, stirring fairly constantly, until lightly browned. It takes only a minute or two. Don’t burn, it will taste bitter. We know this because we did it the first time!!
Remove garlic to paper towels and salt lightly.
Add almonds to the same skillet and sauté until lightly browned. Remove to the same paper towels.
Add bread cubes to the same skillet (add more oil if needed). Stir to coat all sides.
Add oregano and lightly toast croutons. Remove to paper towels.
Cut a heart shaped piece from each beet and hearts of palm slice with a cookie cutter or free form (it’s the thought that counts).
Put Romaine lettuce on individual serving plates.
Top with dressing. Add croutons, garlic, and almonds.
Arrange beets and hearts of palm on top.
It IS adorable – go enjoy!
