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Mixed salad leaves with sweet balsamic dressing

  1. Choose a selection of lettuce leaves for effect texture and flavour e.g. ruby chard, spinach, lambs lettuce, red oak leaf, endive, watercress etc.
  2. Add any fresh herbs available such as chives;either snipped with scissors. Chopped cucumber, finely sliced and cherry tomatoes, halved add interest.
  3. Steamed asparagus cut into diamonds is also delicious.
                Mixed salad

Dressing

  1. To half a bottle of balsamic vinegar, stir in two tablespoons of muscovado sugar.
  2. Heat to dissolve the sugar and then simmer to reduce the vinegar to produce a superb dressing. The longer you cook, the thicker the consistency will be.
To dress a salad you need the dressing to be fairly fluid, but to decorate a plate like a celebrity chef you will need it to hold a teardrop shape when cold so boil for a little longer. I test this as for jam on a cold saucer in the refrigerator.

Cool the dressing before use.

Once made this keeps for ages in a bottle although in our house it gets eaten very quickly!

To Finish

  1. Toss the prepared leaves in the dressing and scatter with toasted pine nuts.
  2. This salad is excellent served with poached salmon and new warm potatoes.
  3. Toss the potatoes in a little butter and serve with chives on the top.

This recipe is one of a series produced by Sue Bridger for the NFWI to illustrate vegetable cookery at the RHS show in Tatton.

If you are interested in gardening or cooking why not check out the residential courses available at the WI's Denman College? cources run for 2,3 and 4 days and the college is open also to non-members.