Anixiatiki (Spring) Salad
May 2nd, 2009 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Dressing, Greek, Honey, Nuts, Olive Oil, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian
Yesterday was May 1st and in Greek tradition, a Greek will greet their fellow Greeks with a “Kalo Mina” or “Good Month”. May 1st is also the European equivalent of the North American Labour Day.
In Greece and much of Europe, a celebration and remembrance of the social and economic achievements are marked with parades and other events.
Greece (again) is in the midst of a long weekend, the warm sun reminding everyone that those long hot days are near, flowers in full bloom and the Spring produce in abundance at the markets and family plots.
This past Easter, another pleasant surprise at our family’s table was this “Anixiatiki (Spring) Salad. The recipe was discovered whist flipping through the last issue of Gastronomos.
What sets this salad apart is that the dressing is warm, an array of Spring (and seasonal) greens are used and toasted pine nuts round out this simple, delicious salad.
I am going to make this salad again this evening and I thought to share it with you all. Choose your favourite salad green, toast some pine nuts and toss everything into this delightfully warm dressing.
Anixiatiki (Spring) Salad
(for six)
Approx 450gr. of Spring or Mesclun salad mix
2 scallions, chopped
3 Tbsp. of chopped fennel or dill fronds
1/2 cup of pine nuts
Warm Vinaigrette
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. warm water
3 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbp. good honey (Greek if possible)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- Thoroughly wash your salad greens and remove excess water. I use a salad spinner. Add your chopped scallions and and reserve.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, toast your pine nuts while constantly shaking the skillet. As soon as you can catch the aroma of the pine nuts, take off the heat and reserve in a small bowl.
- To make the vinaigrette, place your Balsamic vinegar in a small pot along with the mustard, honey and water. Heat over medium-low heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and whisk in the olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Reserve and keep warm until the salad is served.
- Pour the warm vinaigrette over your salad along with the pine nuts, chopped dill (or fennel fronds) and gently toss. Serve while the dressing is still warm.
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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
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© 2009, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
Nothing fussy, just right. A perfect salad!
That header picture is so beautiful!
We have turned to light eating, more salad & fresh food with the weather warming up. Pine nuts & your dressing sounds really good.
I liked the idea of the warm dressing!!
Very tasty salad!!
Love the sound of this! Anything with pine nuts if a winner for me!
Great idea with that warm dressing Peter…looks lovely and fresh!
I love all of those pine nuts — glad to see you don’t skimp on them :-)
I love love love toasted pine nuts in my salads..add the perfect texture
Peter I love those homemade vinaigrette. This is a perfect salad for me.
This is definitely a salad I’ll try when I have dill in my garden this summer.
the toasted pinenuts must give this salad its special taste
I love salades , i love this warm vinageretee specially, sure going to make that dressing.
I love warm vinaigrettes and yours looks simple and tasty. The pinenuts add a perfect crunch too.
Kala Mina Peter. Never heard of a warm dressing, other than a dressing down which can get warm lol! This salad is downright exciting…mmm
You know it’s spring when all the terrific salads start to surface. The dressing ingredients are a perfect combination.
This salad is really tastefull :) We had it on the menu of Easter festive lunch. The freshness of the leaves with the warmth of the toasted pinenuts and the mellow touch of the vinaigrette was a divine matchmake.
Excellent suggestion Peter!
I always enjoy a good salad. This one looks perfect!
Simply delicious!
There are times when nothing beats a simple salad. With this warm vinaigrette, I could even top this with a soft boiled egg and be a happy girl at lunch!
Peter, thanks for sharing this fantastic salad! I love warm salads but I often run out of creativity and don’t come up with new ones, so I always welcome new ideas, especially with a Mediterranean twist :)
The nutty bite must round things out so nicely for this lovely salad, can’t wait to try it :)
That sounds wonderful & i love the addition of fennel
the salad looks absolutely refreshing =)
Me love this dressing, and can’t wait for the spring greens to come to my local farmers market….copying this right now!
I love the new look of your blog! Yeah I left blogger as well. So much more freedom with wordpress!
This recipe sounds yummy too!!!
Salad season is once again here. Great blend of flavours Peter. Sounds great.
Love the pine nuts. Real simple and tasty.
Simple and delightful. It makes a very pretty salad and the warm dressing is unexpected. Sounds inviting on the cloudy spring day we are having in this part of the world.
Perfect! I love the warm vinaigrette you made.
A keeper Peter. I have the tunes cranked and am ready to get into the kitchen:D
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