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1 red pepper, roasted or grilled and
cut into strips
1 chili pepper (Anaheim), roasted or
grilled and cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, roasted or grilled
and cut into strips
1 can of small artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup raw cauliflower, broken into small
pieces
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
6 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
1 fresh tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 12 oz package baby mixed greens
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T red wine vinegar
1/4
t sweet smoked paprika
1 T mixed fresh herbs - oregano, basil,
thyme salt and fresh ground pepper to
taste
1/2 T Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1. Whisk together first 6 ingredients
of vinaigrette in a small bowl.
2. Add oil a bit at a time, whisking
continuously to create an emulsion.
3. Set aside until ready to serve salad.
4. Use 1/2 vinaigrette to dress the
first 9 salad ingredients and set aside
in the refrigerator at least 2 hours
before serving.
5. Right before serving use the remaining
vinaigrette to dress the greens.
6. Divide the dressed greens onto 6
chilled salad plates. Divide the roasted
pepper mixture evenly over the top of
the greens.
7. Serve cold.
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This is one of
the best hot-weather salads ever invented. The combination
of the briefly marinated vegetables with the crisp,
cool greens can’t be beat! Serve this salad
at your next soiree and be king or queen of the
hill!
The vinaigrette is unique
due to the addition of smoked paprika. Smoked paprika
is made so by slowly smoke-drying using oak. It
comes in dolce (sweet), agridulce (semisweet) and
picante (hot). Sweet smoked paprika delivers a deep
smoky flavor and slight sweetness with very little
bitternes and adds superb rich color.
As wonderful as the dressing
is, the star player of this salad is the combination
of the sweet and hot peppers. Peppers are best roasted
or grilled to easily remove the skin and soften
the flesh. When using a grill, simply put the peppers
on the rack over high heat. The skin will, and indeed
should, blacken and blister. Turn the pepper until
all the skin is uniformly blackened. Remove from
the heat and place in a paper bag and seal. Alternatively,
place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Allow peppers to cool, then simply peel off the
skin, made easy by the steaming process in the bag/bowl.
You are left with sweet, tender flesh with a pleasantly
smoky taste. You can also mimic this process indoors
with a gas burner but beware, you’ll want
good ventilation for this method.
This salad is also made delicious
and heartier with the addition of cotija cheese,
which is also known as Queso Anejado or "aged
cheese". The curd is aged and sold in small
rounds or large blocks. This is a salty and pungent
cheese with the moist version being a bit like Feta,
which can be used as a substitute if you’re
unable to find cotija in your market. The cheese
can be crumbled and used in tacos, soups, salads
or over beans.
As well as being delicious
and unique, this salad is perfect to take on picnics.
Unlike old standbys such as potato salad, this dish
has no mayonaisse, which means a much less chance
of your guests ending up in the emergency room.
It is equally appetizing hot, straight off the grill,
room temperature or chilled. What more can you ask
for?
Eat Well and Be Safe.
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