Red Salad L’Orignal

When you hear “green,” you think of leaves, trees, grass and maybe even salad. When you hear “red,” you picture a heart or a flower. The idea of a red salad catches us off guard, grabs our attention, forces us to reconsider our preconceived notions. So, the next time you are in the mood for a provocative salad that stimulates the brain and your taste buds, try this Red Salad L’Orignal, named for the Restaurant L’Orignal in Old Montreal with a red salad on their spring menu. That’s ” l’orignal,” French for moose, not a typo, although the red salad recipe is original, too.

Red Salad L’Orignal

• 1 small radicchio, leaves torn 
• 1 or 2 small red leaf lettuces, leaves torn
• 1 red endive, leaves separated (optional)
• a few slices of red onion
• 4 red radish, thinly sliced
• 1 red beet, finely grated
• 1/4 c almonds or pecans 
• 15 red grapes, halved and seeded (can substitute strawberries or raspberries)
• 1 red apple, thinly sliced
• 1 c cooked red quinoa

Red Dressing

• 2 T olive oil
• 5 T apple cider vinegar 
• 3 t maple syrup
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 t paprika (to turn it red)

In a large bowl, combine the grated beet, almonds, quinoa and apple. Stir gently to coat. Distribute the other ingredients into 4-6 portions, adding the beet mixture to each potion.

Combine all the dressing ingredients. Taste test to adjust seasoning. Divide dressing by drizzling a tablespoon portion over each salad. Serve the remainder of the dressing on the side or in a plate for dipping toasted kamut bread, from Boulangerie le Fournil.

Red Salad L’Orignal Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Thanks to my snow-covered-mountain-loving friend, George Stern, of the amazing bead emporium Frabels, for sharing his red salad from Restaurant L’Orignal. A meal out with friends is wonderful and really worthwhile if you head on home with a new delicious recipe.
• Did you know that 30 percent of the unfrozen land on earth is devoted to livestock, mostly cows, and that the biggest harm to our environment comes from their appetite and methane gas emissions? Apparently if we all give up meat and dairy just 1 day per week, we can go a long way towards remediating this environmental disaster. Listen to this 2 part Freakonomics You Eat What You Are podcast. And read Vanity Fair’s ‘Steak Show’s it’s Muscle’, by A. A. Gill.
• What do you know about cuisine de terroir? Between Appetite for Books‘ talk, “Cook it Raw with Alessandro Porcelli,” and the wonderful cuisine de terroir menu at L’Orignal, I’m starting to get the point.

Related articles

• salad-in-a-jar 101 (backtoherroots.com)
• Spring radish salad with (gluten free) fried goat cheese medallions (rosecreekfarmscsa.wordpress.com)
• Thai Glass Noodle Salad with Caramelised Prawns (greatbritishchefs.com)
• Salad, the end of the road for excuses. (omgirlsguide.wordpress.com)
• Mache Salad (chezjuliane.wordpress.com)