Week 2 Recipes - Gourmet Salad Mix, Strawberries, Red Scallions, Asparagus, Rhubarb

First, you might notice that I list the Clarion River Organics (CRO) produce items that each post uses from that week's delivery.  Sometimes I will even include items that were delivered the week before, but not yet used up.  The purpose of course is to make it easier to find what you are interested in. 

So with more strawberries and greens this week in the CRO delivery and the rhubarb still in the fridge from last week, I decided to make an all time favorite: green salad with rhubarb dressing!  This salad is a real treat because we have rhubarb only once a year when it comes from the CSA.  

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, though due to its use as a filling in pies, many now call it a "fruit".  The stalks resemble celery, have a similar, if slightly more woody, texture and are quite bitter.  Hence, whenever rhubarb is used, it is cooked to soften it and a sweetener is added to tame the bitterness.  Most commonly, it is used in desserts.  However, I'm not much of a baker, probably because I do not particularly care about sweets one way or the other, so a rhubarb pie is never in the offing.  Thus, I was very happy when several years ago I came across a recipe for a rhubarb salad dressing.  I was reminded of this again when  I picked up my CRO order this week and found that they had given me the cookbook, Simply in Season, as a new subscriber gift (thanks CRO!).  This book too has a rhubarb dressing recipe.  

The beautiful thing about this salad is that anything goes.  You use the type of greens you like or have on hand (though spinach is particularly good) and any other toppings that you enjoy (see p. 46-47, Simply in Season).  The combination I use in the recipe below is one that I have found to be a proven winner.  It is a delightful mix of sweet, pungent, and savory flavors as well as soft and crunchy textures.  It may seem like this salad is a bit of work (who cooks fruit in order to make dressing?), but when you try that first mouthful you will find it was worth the time.  

Strawberries and Greens with Rhubarb Dressing

4 cups Clarion River Organics greens (I used their Gourmet Salad Mix from week 2)
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
2 Clarion River Organics red scallions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch asparagus, stalks trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (if you still have yours left from Week 1 here is a use for it!)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 large basil leaves

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer.  Blanch the asparagus by placing the pieces in the water for one minute.  Immediately drain, rinse and place asparagus pieces in ice water to keep them from cooking further.  Combine the washed greens with the other toppings.  When the asparagus has cooled, drain, pat dry and add to the salad.  Top with the rhubarb dressing (below).  Serves 4. 

Rhubarb Dressing (source: Simply in Season)
2 cups rhubarb, chopped (3-4 stalks)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, grated or minced
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I use vegan worcestershire - regular contains anchovies)
1/4 tsp salt

Cook rhubarb, sugar, and vinegar over medium heat until soft.  Drain in sieve.  Discard pulp.  To 6 tablespoons of this juice, add remaining ingredients.  Shake in a jar or whisk together.  Chill before serving or you can use warm if you can't wait!