Having a go-to vinaigrette recipe can be a springboard to success in the kitchen. Not only might it inspire you to eat more salad, it can also double as a chicken or winter root vegetable marinade. While many of us have good intentions of craving more nutrient-dense meals to ward off cold-weather ailments and choosing something lighter after all the heavy (yet delicious) holiday meals, making a vinaigrette from scratch can seem daunting to home cooks.
This simple vinaigrette recipe from The Halyard‘s (58775 County Road 48, Greenport) executive chef Nathan Hitchcock will help make those choices accessible, and healthier, when dressing soil-enriched winter greens.
“Our salads change periodically, and the greens change as they are seasonally available,” says Hitchcock, who sources ingredients for “Ira’s Biodynamic Mixed Greens,” named for Ira Haspel of KK’s The Farm in Southold. “Currently, we are using their frisée [curly chicory], mustard greens and flowers, arugula, Toscano kale, green and scarlet mizuna, and red Russian kale. The goal is to keep it as fresh as possible.”
The guiding principle in biodynamic farming is to regard the farm, particularly the soil, as a whole, like a human metabolic system.
“A healthy metabolism is a continuous maintenance toward homeostatic balance,” explains Gordon Cox, farmer and partner at KK’s and an educator in biodynamics. “Acknowledgment, by observation of metabolic processes, is the most important step of nutritional healing. By simply increasing the decision to ingest substrates composed of formative forces, the body will increase its efficacy of metabolic processes.” In layman’s terms, choosing sustenance that includes biodynamically grown vegetables is good for your body, mind and whole being.
Still, iceberg and romaine purists might snub the idea of incorporating these unusual, slightly bitter greens into their daily diet. However, according to Hitchcock, this is where the vinaigrette assists in “really brightening the salad up. The honey contrasts that bitterness and the acid in the lemon allows those greens to shine.”
This salad perfectly complements local honey crisp apples, roasted squash, pickled onions, grilled chicken, or shrimp. Making the vinaigrette ahead will allow you to serve a quick, healthy weeknight meal in no time.
“You can store this dressing in a mason jar and refrigerate,” suggests Hitchcock, who is just entering his third year this spring as executive chef at The Halyard. “Just shake it a little before using it.”
Add some extra crunch with homemade croutons (day-old 1610 Sourdough is a good choice) as a salad topper and serving alongside a glass of crisp Paumanok Vineyards Chenin Blanc. Winter won’t mind.
Photos by Doug Young
Honey-lemon vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 large lemons, zest and juice (about 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or any neutral oil)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
- Zest and juice the lemons into a large stainless bowl placed on a kitchen towel (to secure while whisking in the next step).
- Add the mustard, honey and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Slowly add in the oil while whisking.
- Store in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks; shake before using.
