Food Focus: Mesclun

What is Mesclun? I didn’t know either. That is, until we received an order from the Organic Food Coop we used to use before we bought our Tower Garden.

Here’s the Wikipedia version: “Mesclun is a salad mix of assorted small, young salad green leaves, that originated in Provence, France. The traditional mix usually includes chervil, arugula, leafy lettuces and endive, while the term may also refer to an undetermined mix of fresh and available baby salad greens,[1] including lettuces, spinach, arugula (rocket, or roquette), Swiss chard (silver beet), mustard, endive, dandelion, frisée, mizuna, mâche (lamb’s lettuce), radicchio, sorrel, and/or other leaf vegetables.”

Suggested recipe:

Mix the desired quantity of mesclun mix, add some extra arugula, sprinkle it with chopped basil,and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.
You can add tomatoes, avocado*, and cucumber.
For the dressing, a little bit of olive oil* with grated ginger and some citrus juice. (key lime, lemon, or blood orange).

Arugula is a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc and Copper. It’s high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese.

Chervil is low in Sodium. It is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Zinc and Manganese.

Green Leaf Lettuce is a good source of Protein, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Potassium and Manganese. (note: use red leaf lettuce for added selenium).

*Avocado is a superfood. It is is very low in Sodium (10.5 mg) and very high in potassium (727 mg). It is FULL of healthy fats (2534mg of Omega-6 fatty acids per 165mg of Omega-3 fatty acids). It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Folate.

You can check out more nutritional information for the other mesclun ingredients at http://nutritiondata.self.com.

Check out other Raw and Cooling Salad Ideas, in an earlier post.

*Want to experiment with other salad oils? Here’s a prior post of oils & fats.

Mixed Green Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

November 5, 2011

Mixed Green Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

(Recipe obtained from Chef Stevie Nussbaum)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup Blueberries
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 cups Mixed Greens
1/4 cup Goat Cheese

Directions

Place the blueberries, Balsamic Vinegar, and dijon mustard in a blender or food processor
Turn on the blender and slowly drizzle in the olive oil
Toss salad dressing with greens
Top with goat cheese.

Asian Watercress Salad

August 1, 2011

Asian Watercress Salad

(This recipe appeared in the July,2011 issue of A Healthy You)

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

1 bunch washed watercress
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup baked tofu
1-1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2/3 tablespoons plum vinegar or other vinegar

Directions

1. Tear watercress into desirable size pieces.

2. Mix with carrots in a salad bowl.

3. Drizzle sesame oil and vinegar over salad and toss.

4. Dice tofu into bite-size strips.

5. Serve in individual salad bowls, sprinkle tofu on top of each and serve.