Watercress And Sunchoke Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

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* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Watercress And Sunchoke Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

 

Recipe By : The (Almost) No Fat Holiday Cookbook, by Grogan, page 99

Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Salads, Dressings Salads, Vegetable

Vegetables

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

***CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE***

1 cup cold water or light vegetarian broth

mixed with 2 tsp. cornstarch

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

cranberry vinegar -- or balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries -- chopped

1/4 cup green onion -- chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juke

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons Sesame Meal

(see separate recipe)

2 teaspoons salt or herbal salt

freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

1 pinch cayenne pepper

***SALAD***

1 pound raw sunchokes

(get the roundest ones you can find

with the least knobs as they are easier

to peel)

1 head buttercrunch or Boston lettuce -- washed and dried

2 bunches watercress -- washed

dried and trimmed

1 medium red or sweet onion -- thinly sliced

 

Serves 6

 

Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem artichokes, but they actually are

part of the sunflower family (and native to North America) thus the more

modern name. They can be cooked much like potatoes, but they are also

delicious raw, with a sweetness and crisp texture reminiscent of fresh

water chestnuts. They grow literally like a weed - in fact, you are well

advised to grow them in large washtubs so they don't over the whole

garden! Plant them in either fall or spring, and harvest them as you need

them the next fall after the stalks have died down. Just leave them right

in the ground, and dig them up as needed. Or look for them in good produce

markets and health food stores.

 

To make the cranberry vinaigrette, stir the water or broth and cornstarch

together in a small saucepan over high heat until it thickens and turns

clear. Pour into a blender with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients, and

blend until smooth. Place in a cruet or pitcher, and refrigerate until

serving time.

 

To make the salad, scrub and peel the sunchokes, and slice them

thinly. You can make one large salad on a platter of individual

salads. Either way, line the dish first with the lettuce, then the

watercress. Top with the sunchoke slices and onion slices. If made ahead

of time, cover well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until serving

time. Drizzle with a little of the cranberry vinaigrette just before

serving, and pass the rest.

 

Per serving: Calories: 83, Protein: 2 gm., Fat: 0 gm., Carbohydrates: 17 gm.

 

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