Karl’s Mesclun Salad with Lightly Pickled Vegetables

I wanted a salad to go with my bean soup. Mesclun greens are a combination of baby greens. While these, by themselves, make a perfect acceptable salad it is always better to add a few crunchy veggies for interest. Today, I am using green beans, red radish, and red onion.

Karl’s Mesclun Salad with Lightly Pickled Vegetables

While it would be good enough to add the dressing just before serving, when have I ever stopped at “good enough?” Adding the dressing to the sturdier vegetables a few hours before dinner would lightly pickle them. I have always liked pickled green beans, but by themselves they make a pretty heavy salad.

A few months ago, I found that you do not want to pickle red radishes more than a couple of hours. The bright red skins tend to bleed and dye the rest of the radish. Instead of a visually interesting red and white circles, you get oddly pink disks.

Karl’s Mesclun Salad with Lightly Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients

Dressing

4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. Red Raspberry Balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, cracked
1 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. cracked black pepper
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. Colman’s dry mustard
¼ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. Kosher salt

½ lb. Haricot verts
⅓ cup red radishes, sliced thinly
2 Tbs. red onion, sliced thinly

4 cups mesclun greens
1 beefsteak tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
½ cup red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Put all of the dressing ingredients into a small lidded jar and shake to mix.

2. Trim and cut the green beans into 1½ inch pieces and steam for 4-5 minutes, until tender.

Tip: Immediately put the green beans into ice water to prevent them from over cooking.

3. Put the green beans, radishes and onions in a bowl and pour the dressing over them.

4. Toss the vegetables to coat them with the dressing and set them on the counter.

5. Toss the vegetables every 15 minutes, to redistribute the dressing ,and let them pickle for at least one hour.

Tip: Better if pickled for two hours.

6. Rinse the mesclun greens and place them in a salad bowl.

7. Pour the pickled vegetables over the greens and scrape out any remaining dressing.

8. Add the tomatoes and red peppers and toss to coat.

9. Serve immediately.