Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Whisk together ingredients until emulsified. (Use 1 pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper, or to taste.) Set aside.
Toss together
Baby kale
Baby Spinach
Baby Chard
Strawberries, sliced in half
Blanched asparagus, cut into 1 inch segments
Candied pecans
Cranberries
Crumbled goat cheese
To prepare asparagus, cut off tough ends and discard. Add apsaragus to boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain hot water and transfer asparagus to ice water until cooled. Drain well.
To prepare pecans, add 1 tablespoon sugar to a sauce pan with 1/2 cup pecans. Let nuts and sugar warm until sugar starts to melt. Watch carefully, as nuts can burn quickly. Once most of the sugar has melted, stir nuts to coat well. Continue stirring until all sugar granules have melted and adhered to pecans. Add a pinch of kosher salt and stir. Remove from heat and cool completely. Save any unused nuts in airtight bag/container in freezer.
Add dressing (you may not need all of it) and goat cheese to salad just before serving. Toss to coat well.
To serve approximately 4-6, I use about 4 to 5 ounces of mixed greens (kale, chard and spinach) and 1/2 bunch asparagus.
