Bodega Salad

Last week's candied cranberries didn't go over as well as I'd hoped.  My brother seemed to like them, but he's a fan of insanely tart flavors just like me.  When we were little, we used to soak pieces of sliced white bread in red wine vinegar and eat them in from the TV, our lips turning white from the acidic burn.  Other people might not have the same tolerance for zing as we do.  

Sometimes I wish I could invite Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli and Marcus Samuelsson into my kitchen to critique my cooking and let me know if my flavors are balanced.  For now I'll just have to rely on my own taste buds, which were clearly blown off by the white bread and vinegar incidents. Speaking of balance, here's a salad I've been eating non-stop since Thanksgiving.  Huge salads are a great way to reset your turkey-stuffed, yam-packed body.  I call this one "bodega" salad because it's nothing fancy.  It's simple, crunchy and covered in a creamy dressing.  It also contains purple cabbage which is, I think, the mark of a bodega salad, a diner salad or a salad bar salad. If you want a protein punch, just add some beans or grilled chicken.

RECIPE

Makes 2 extra large or 4 small servings

Dressing:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
8 turns freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, smashed

Salad:
2 romaine hearts, sliced crosswise in strips
10 grape tomatoes, halved if serving right away
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/2 cup to 1 cup homemade croutons (or store-bought)
 

1.  Add all the dressing ingredients to a small mason jar (or you can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl), close the jar and shake well until the dressing is smooth and creamy.  Set aside.
 

2.  Toss together the romaine, tomatoes, carrot and cabbage in a very large salad bowl.
 

3.  Add your desired serving(s) of salad to a separate bowl, add a few spoonfuls of dressing for each serving and a few croutons and toss well.  Serve right away. 
 

4.  If any undressed salad remains and you’d like to save it for another time,  store it in the fridge in a large Ziploc bag or a plastic-wrapped bowl.  Refrigerate the remaining dressing in the mason jar.  Just shake up the dressing and dress the salad at your next meal.