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Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Julia Hejl

Cooking with Farmscape

Chard and Cucumber Salad with Vanilla-infused Ponzu Dressing

Chard Cucumber SaladSian, a Farmscape member, posted a picture of this dish on Google+, and I immediately asked if she could submit the recipe for the blog. The chiffonade rainbow swiss chard is beautiful with the cherry tomatoes and cucumber, and the flavor is even better. The vanilla-infused ponzu and tomato water dressing is truly delightful, with that hint of sweet vanilla playing so well off the earthiness of the raw chard.

You'll find that chard is also a heartier green than lettuce, so leftovers actually keep decently if stored well in the fridge - although I doubt there will be any. Sian recommends serving this alongside fried green tomatoes.

Chard and Cucumber Salad: Yield: 2 servings

2 cups of swiss chard (discard ribs and chiffonade)

5-10 cherry tomatoes
1 medium sized shallot
1 quarter of a large Japanese cucumber (peeled and thinly sliced)

Vanilla-infused Ponzu and Tomato Water Dressing:

4 tablespoons of ponzu (available in most Asian markets, or make your own with Mark Bittman's recipe)
1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla paste (vanilla extract can be substituted, add 1 teaspoon of honey)
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil 
1 very ripe tomato
salt and pepper to taste

Squeeze the water from the tomato with your hands. Strain if desired, although seeds are a nice addition to this dressing and add a lot of flavor. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Toss with salad to taste.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to submit for the blog? Send an email to jhejl (at) farmscapegardens (dot) com!

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