Karl’s Bitter Herb Salad

When I proposed my usual Greek lamb for this Easter’s dinner, I was faced with a bit of a revolt. We finally settled on both ham and salmon as the main dishes. While the ham is obviously completely un-Kosher, the salmon somehow put me in a vague memory of the bitter herbs of a seder.  While I am not Jewish—and the meal I came up with has some decidedly non-Kosher dishes—a bitter herb salad seemed like a good side dish.

Karl’s Bitter Herb Salad

Since I was cooking this meal by the seat of my pants, I did not research seders until I wrote up this recipe. I did learn that I got a least a few things correctly. I used arugula and mesclun for my maror; red radishes were my karpas; and while I was unaware of what charoset was, I did include an Asian pear/apple. I also used some variant ingredients with oranges as a garnish and rice wine vinegar in my dressing.

Karl’s Bitter Herb Salad

Ingredients

2 navel oranges

Dressing

¼ cup orange juice

2 Tbs. Karl’s orange and cranberry marmalade
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
pinch black pepper
pinch Kosher salt
½ cup Asian pear/apple, peeled and diced

Salad

4-6 oz. arugula
4-6 oz. mesclun
5-6 red radishes, cut in half and sliced

Directions

1. Peel and section the oranges and set them aside.

Note: Cut off the top and bottoms of the oranges and set then cut side down. Deeply slice off the peels all around the oranges. Squeeze the peels into a bowl to conserve its juices. Holding the orange in one hand—holding the fruit over the bowl—slice down to the center alongside the each segments membranes. once all the segments are removed squeeze the remaining pulp into the bowl.

2. Pour the conserved orange juice into a 12 oz. lidded jar.

Tip: Leave the orange segments in the bowl and, if it will be awhile before the meal, refrigerate.

3. Put the marmalade, oil, vinegar, pepper, salt, and pear/apple into the jar.

4. Seal and shake the jar.

Tip: Let the dressing meld for at least half an hour.

Note: The salt will draw some of the juice from the pear/apple into the dressing.

5. Just before the meal, put the arugula, mesclun, and radishes into a salad bowl.

6. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat and mix the salad.

7. Toss once more just before serving and garnish with the orange segments.