Home > Language > Salad with Marinated and Fresh Fruits
I am a salad person to some extent. I prefer a well made salad over any steak.
The problem is that most restaurants here have a hard time going beyond a Caesar’s Salad when it comes to imagination. And then there was the restaurant where I spotted the “chef” standing in dropped lettuce leaves, working the salad station while one of his hands was holding on to the counter and a cigarette was tucked behind his ear as “mise en place”. I wish it would have been on fire - maybe this would have given him a burst of energy 
. The good thing for me is that I cannot recall which restaurant it was, even though it was a recent experience, so we might be back after all. I know that salad was not an option for me that night.
From our time in Germany I recall quite a few places that have incredible mixed salads, which can hold their own against even great main courses. The salad I want to show you today is copied off of one that I ate here in New York’s Hudson Valley, far away from Germany. A few years ago we had everything packed away and the apartment was empty and all clean because we had to move back to Germany. As far as we knew it was meant to be our last night here.
So we wanted to indulge to say good bye to a place we had grown to love. We went to a really nice Italian restaurant in town, one that we have to save for very special occasions. I had this salad there - mixed greens, Radicchio and marinated dried fruits. I returned to our hotel room - I mentioned that the apartment was empty, right? - and wrote down a list of ingredients that I thought were used in this awesome concoction. I really appreciate that they provide a bit of stationary in most hotels.
“Me too, or I could guarantee that this would not have been part of your repertoire - be honest, how much of the food do you remember from your visit to this other expensive restaurant on your wedding anniversary?”
The point is that this was good enough to be remembered and copied. Also - do you honestly believe I could copy anything from a great fish dish? Come on - I am a Pastry Chef for a reason!
We moved back to Germany in February so dried fruits were great in this salad. Now that we have summer here in NY, I added some fresh apricots and plums to the mix, which made it at least equally as delicious as the mixture I usually use for this salad.
The picture above is my entry for this month’s Snack Shots hosted by Michelle from Greedy Gourmet.
In case anyone is wondering - we were back in the same town here in New York exactly three months later - moving twice across the ocean in a short period of time, not as much fun as this salad, I can tell you!
Cranberries, dried
Figs, dried, diced
Prunes (dried plums), diced
Apricots, dried, diced
White balsamic vinegar
Dressing/Vinaigrette
White balsamic vinegar
Some of the liquid from soaking the fruits if available
Sugar to taste
Vegetable oil (I usually use a neutral one like canola oil)
Mix the ingredients and adjust the quantities to your liking. I usually use far less oil than recommended for a vinaigrette - I like it refreshing.
Salad
Romaine lettuce
Radicchio
Mixed salad greens
Marinated fruits
Vinaigrette
Fresh fruits optional