Last week my husband and I returned from the trip of a lifetime (Although I’m hoping it will happen at least once more!). We spent 17 days roaming around Paris, London and Dublin, getting our fill of art, history and, most importantly, delicious, mind-blowing food. The camera on my phone hardly rested as I snapped photos of my meatless meals throughout the trip. For the next few weeks, I thought it would be fun to try and recreate some of my favorites.
This week I’m starting with one of the best salads I’ve ever had. It came from a little cafe in Paris called Le Petit Cler, situated on a cobblestone pedestrian road among shops and flower stalls (Yes, it was as dreamy as it sounds.). Although simple in ingredients, the freshness and flavor of this spinach-based dish had me practically licking the bowl.
Spring Spinach Salad
4 Servings
For the Salad: 8 cups baby spinach, washed and patted dry
4 cups trimmed, halved and blanched green beans
12 Campari tomatoes, quartered
Dressing (recipe follows)
2 cups prepared brown lentils
2 cups freshly shaved Parmesan
4 large eggs, soft-boiled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• In each of 4 bowls, place 2 cups of spinach, 1 cup of green beans and 3 quartered tomatoes. Drizzle with 1/8 cup of dressing (or more to taste) and stir to combine.
• Top with ½ cup of shaved Parmesan, followed by 1 egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the Dressing:
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. sugar
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 tsp. salt
8 grinds black pepper
• Place all of the ingredients in a lidded jar. Screw on the lid and shake vigorously for about 1 minute.
• Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 45 minutes to let the flavors marry.
This article appears in April 2013.