I have to say that salads really take a backseat over here during the winter months. It’s always so refreshing to see spring produce start to pop up in the stores come April – especially rhubarb! I get so excited whenever I see a pile of those pretty red stalks gracing the shelves of my local market. I probably single-handedly keep the supply and demand of rhubarb rolling in my town.
I also love starting to serve up fresh green salads at dinner again. Taylor Farms makes things easy on me with their many blends of pre-washed organic salad blends. This sweet baby lettuce blend is the perfect base for any fresh salad. Instead of having to buy 10 different kinds of baby lettuce and mix them together, it all comes in one fresh package full of pretty greens and reds. I love to add grains to my salads and nutty farro is a long time favorite. Along with the grains and greens, roasted beets, strawberries, and a sprinkling of goats cheese make for a springy platter of wholesome goodness.
My favorite part of this salad? The rhubarb dressing, of course. Roasted with a splash of white balsamic vinegar, it is then blended with pink peppercorns, orange juice and zest, honey, oil and a little onion for flavor. The roasted rhubarb gives the dressing the prettiest light orange blush color, not to mention that rhubarb, pink peppercorns, and orange are a match made in heaven. Seriously. This flavor combo is going to be making an appearance quite often around here. Give it a try, you’ll see why! xo
P.S. head over to my Instagram to get in on a Taylor Farms giveaway!
- FOR THE SALAD:
- 1 container Taylor Farms Sweet Baby Lettuce
- 1½ cups Cooked Farro, cooled
- 6 small Beets or 3 large, roasted, peeled, and sliced into wedges(I used a mix of both red and gold)
- 1 cup sliced Strawberries
- ½ cup Crumbled Goats Cheese
- FOR THE DRESSING:
- 1 large Rhubarb Stalk, sliced into 4-5 pieces
- 3 tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
- 5 tablespoons Honey
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 10 Pink Peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon Onion, chopped (I just eyeball a little slice and don't worry about chopping it)
- Juice of ½ Orange
- Zest of ½ Orange
- ½ cup Light Olive Oil
- FOR THE SALAD:
- Arrange the salad evenly across a large platter. Sprinkle the farro over the lettuce. Place the beet wedges and strawberry sliced evenly over the lettuce and farro. Sprinkle goats cheese evenly over the salad. Drizzle the salad with the dressing and serve.
- FOR THE DRESSING:
- Place the rhubarb in a small baking dish and pour the balsamic vinegar over it. Roast it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove and scrape the vinegar and rhubarb into a blender. Let cool completely, then add the honey, salt, peppercorns, onion, orange juice, zest, and olive oil to the blender. Process at high speed until you have a smooth, creamy dressing. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
A big thanks to Taylor Farms for sponsoring this post!
Oh dear ! Haven’t roasted the beets for ages ! Thank you so much for this great idea !
salads just feel so cold during the winter! when i want refreshing (aka end of spring/summer!), salad sounds perfect. and love the idea of blitzing rhubarb into the dressing (:
Love all the components of this salad and the dressing is so intriguing. Your redbuds are beautiful-one of my favorite springtime blooms!
This salad is so original!
And the combination of flavors sounds pretty delicious. Stunning pictures as always.
I adore rhubarb, and as soon as it appears in the stores, you know Summer is just around the corner! Plus, like you said, this lovely red/ pinkish colour make sit so pretty!
The idea of using it in dressing would NEVER occur to me, and I love the combination of ingredients, especially the use of pink peppercorns in there! Just wow!
this looks fantastic – perfect for summer! your photography is incredible…very inspiring!