Allandale Farm Salad

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Sarah Blackburn

I wrote this recipe for an early post on my blog, The Garum Factory, after a summer visit to Allandale Farm in Brookline.

Serves 4–6

4 small chioggia beets, scrubbed and sliced paper thin on a mandolin
¼ cup pickling juice from your favorite store-bought or homemade pickles; or 2 tablespoons sugar dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water and ¼ cup white vinegar (you made need more pickling juice or vinegar)
3 heads baby fennel, sliced paper thin on a mandolin, rinsed and drained after slicing
8 small radishes, scrubbed and sliced paper thin on a mandolin
4 small white turnips, scrubbed and sliced paper thin on a mandolin
2 small zucchini, sliced in to 1/8-inch rounds
1 spring onion, thinly sliced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs—parsley, basil and mint
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups spicy greens, like crinkle cress or arugula
3 tablespoons toasted walnuts, chopped
½ cup blue cheese, crumbled

Toss the paper-thin beets in a bowl with the pickling juice. Allow to macerate for 30 minutes.

Put the sliced fennel, radishes, turnips, zucchini and onion in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss well. Add the herbs and the olive oil and toss well. Add the beets, with their pickling juices, and greens and toss again. Taste and add more vinegar as needed and toss well. The amount of vinegar you need will depend on the tartness of the pickling juices.

Add the walnuts and toss again. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and serve.

This recipe appeared in the Summer 2014 issue as part of a larger story on potluck salads.