Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette #ImprovCookingChallenge

Welcome to the April 2020 Improv Cooking Challenge. Somehow I missed March. Whoops. This group is headed up by Nichole of Cookaholic Wife. And I haven't been very consistent, take last month as an example, but I love the idea of the group, so I will try to be better in the coming months.

The idea behind Improv Cooking Challenge: we are assigned two ingredients and are challenged to create a recipe with those two things. This month's items: lettuce and lemons. Here's what the crew is sharing...

Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Falafel Layered Salad & A Bhatura Sandwich - A Combo by Sneha's Recipe
Greek Meatball Salad by Cookaholic Wife
Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad by Making Miracles
Mixed Greens with Roasted Golden Beets and Lemon Vinaigrette by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Strawberry Cucumber Salad by Pandemonium Noshery
Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon and Avocado by Palatable Pastime

Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Bitter Greens

• 2 small heads endive, thinly sliced on the bias
• 1 small head little gems lettuce, thinly sliced on the bias
• 2 C loosely packed herb leaves (I used oregano, mint, rosemary, thyme, and tarragon)

Lemon Vinaigrette

• ½ C freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ⅓ C olive oil
• ¼ C balsamic vinegar
• 1 T whole grain mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
• 2 T organic maple syrup
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper

Lemon Vinaigrette

Place all of the ingredients, except the salt and pepper, into a lidded mason jar. Shake to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This will make more than you need for this salad, but it will keep for at least two or three days. Just shake before using each time.

Bitter Greens

Place all of the greens into a mixing bowl. Just before serving, toss in as much of the vinaigrette as you need to completely coat the greens. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, as needed.