Gourmet Green Salad with Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Salad:
- 10-12 cups mixed greens, I use the large rectuangular box from Sam’s Club
- 1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ripe fresh pears, sliced thin (you can also use fresh strawberries, raspberries, or apples)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced Parmesan cheese, I grab my big block of Parmesan cheese and use my vegetable peeler to slice of thin peels of Parmesan
- 1 large carrot, or about 5-6 baby carrots, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ to ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 5-7 slices of bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
- 3 cups store bought or homemade croutons, (see below for a how-to)
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
- ⅔ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup red onions, finely grated (about 1/4 of a large red onion)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Ground pepper to taste
- 2 cups canola oil
Instructions
- For the salad, put mixed greens in a large salad bowl. Top with other ingredients and toss. Serve with red wine vinaigrette dressing below (or any other favorite salad dressing).
- For the dressing, add all ingredients except oil in a blender. Blend well. While processing, slowly add the canola oil and blend well. Transfer dressing to a jar or cruet.
- It keeps well in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks (although I’ve found it gets a little thick if it is too cold so I’ll pop it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to help thin it out before I use it if it has been in the refrigerator for several days).
Notes
Candied Nuts: Mary serves this with candied nuts as well. I am not a huge fan of sugary sweet nuts but if that is your fancy, feel free to throw some in!