Yoga Pants Salad

The name of this salad caught my eye, because most days I am wearing yoga pants and yes, the salad’s healthy status is fabulous. Sample some of the best of Santa Barbara cuisine-The Yoga Pants Salad, a little jewel.

SANTA BARBARA CUISINE

Moving up the coast north of LA has been a dream. Cooler weather via the ocean breeze in a kinda sleepy beach town I now call home. Just a short drive north is the paradise of Santa Barbara. Striving to get to know everything I can about this new to me food scene, I stumbled upon this wonderful salad from the Satellite Chef Emma West. The recipe has been featured on many channels of information, and it is very kind of the chef to share her recipe.

YOGA PANTS SALAD

Listening to my fav radio station, I discovered the link to this salad, as well as a bit of the history of the recipe, which always fascinates me. Seems the restaurant is next door to a yoga studio, hence the yoga pants and the collection of healthy ingredients to enjoy after a workout. Along with a write up in The NY Times, I just had to sample this salad. With going out to eat not an option currently, I set out to create the salad.

YOGA PANTS SALAD DRESSING

The key to this recipe is the dressing. I could devour this dressing on any salad, but it especially works as the chef intended. Roasted garlic, Marcona almonds and Dijon mustard create the creamy base for the oil, vinegar and lemon. The result is a flexible dressing – I can see this on a fall salad like Brussels Sprout Salad with Sour Cherries, Hazelnuts and Manchego Cheese.

The salad ingredients do not have quantities, just combine the freshest farmers market finds, such as butter lettuce, beets, roasted squash, pomegranate seeds and sprouts. As with most salads texture is key here.

Chiffonade the lettuce into long, thin strips. Dice the roasted squash and beets into small cubes. Add the fresh blueberries and pomegranate seeds. Chiffonade is a slicing technique in which leafy green vegetables such as spinach, basil, sorrel, or Swiss chard, or a flat-leaved herb like basil, are cut into long, thin strips. This is accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then slicing the leaves perpendicular to the roll.

Combine the salad ingredients in an ample sized salad bowl, drizzle with some of the dressing, toss gently, adding enough dressing to bind the salad ingredients together. Sprouts or micro-greens are gently tossed in at the end.

Serve the salad carefully stacked in a mound, or serve in radicchio leaf cups.

 

 

As always, enjoy. B