Peppery Leaf Salad with Homemade Salad Cream

This peppery leaf salad is loaded with wild rocket, spinach, red chard, baby red leaf, little gem and romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, red onion and baby tomatoes. All tossed together with a sweet and tangy homemade salad cream creating a salad that has an earthy, bold and peppery kick. It is also healthy and filling.

After years of being frustrated at lack of uniformity of my slices, I finally decided to invest in a mandoline slicer. It literally cuts down the prep time and creates paper thin slices of vegetables. Which inspired me to make this salad.

Confession! During the colder month’s I am all about warm hearty food. But every once in while, I crave a great tasting filling salad. And it’s such an opportune time to try out my new toy.

Let’s jump into the details for this Peppery Leaf Salad

Start off by making the salad cream. What is Salad Cream? It’s a creamy salad dressing made with cream and egg yolks.

To make it we will need some hard boiled eggs for this. The easiest way to do this is by placing the eggs in a saucepan and then add enough water so that the eggs are covered by at least and inch or two of water. Bring to a full rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Leave it for 12 minutes, before running cold water over the eggs to stop them from cooking further.

Peel and half the eggs. Remove the yolks and set the white aside. Place the egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of mustard, the juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of sugar and cider vinegar in the jug of a blender. Pulse to make a smooth liquid. Pour in the cream and blend slowly to mix. Mix in some chopped fresh tarragon. Add salt and crushed black pepper to taste. Pour the salad cream into a sterilised jar and place into the fridge until ready to use.

For the salad, you can use a mix of whatever salad leaves you like. Start off with a base of little gem, and romaine lettuce, these leaves are crisp, sweet, and sturdy. Add in some red leaf lettuce and red chard for colour. Wild rockets (arugula) adds a bold peppery kick to the salad.

Toss in, some carrots, sweet cherry tomatoes and red onions. Don’t forget to add in two sliced eggs.

Plate the salad and add the salad cream just before serving for a crisp and fresh presentation.  Toss everything together in a big salad bowl.

This is just a really delicious bowl of salad. Using different salad leaves creates layers of multiple flavours, from savoury to sweet. The flavours of peppery rocket are balanced out by the sweet tomatoes. There is something in there for everyone.

What is also great about this recipe is that it is perfect for meal prep and forms the base for multiple meals.

Optional Additions

You can top the salad with tuna or grilled chicken. Feta cheese is also a great addition. It adds a salty note to the salad. For more crunch, you can also add in croutons or sweetcorn.

Make a meal out of it by adding some grilled chicken or prawns.

If you make these soft fudgy brownie cookies, be sure to leave a comment below . I would also love it if you tag  @bakesbychichi on Instagram ❤.