Organic Herb Salad with Black Eyed Peas, Grapes, and Spanish Marcona Almonds

Organic Herb Salad with Black Eyed Peas, Grapes, and Spanish Marcona Almonds

Never underestimate the value of a good salad. There have been many times when I've gone out to eat at a restaurant and I didn't want to order a salad as my main course because I thought I'd be missing out on something - some really great fish, or pasta, or who knows what. But then when I actually do order it, I'm never disappointed.

Such was the case last weekend when we went to Gulfstream Restaurant. They make a really, really great salad. Actually, more than one. And they make really, really great other stuff, too. I really, really like Gulfstream's. I could do a whole post just about them but I'll let you check them out if you're ever near one. They're from the same family of awesome Hillstone Restaurants as Houston's, R+D, and Bandera's. One more thing - they make really, really great cocktails. They fresh squeeze their juices on site and what a difference that makes.

And, no, I'm not getting paid or compensated in any way to say that. These are some of our favorite haunts simply because they have great food, great drinks and a great atmosphere. And I'm kinda selective about my food and drinks. Okay, and atmosphere.

Back to the salad...

Organic Herb Salad with Black Eyed Peas, Grapes, and Spanish Marcona Almonds

This isn't the salad I got at Gulfstream's, rather it's one I made based on their inspiration. Salads are so great because you can make them any way you want, use any greens you want, include as many or as few simple or exotic ingredients as you want, and toss in whatever dressing you want. Love that about salads.

This is pretty much what I put in mine, minus the rotisserie chicken because I ate that while I was making the salad...

I bought the organic herb mix from Bristol Farms. They have the best selection of organic produce around, btw. The others mostly came from the farmer's market, including the purple bell pepper (which I couldn't believe I finally found around here!). The black eyed peas (also known as cowpeas) were fresh so I just boiled them for about 8 minutes in salted water to soften them a bit more, then let them cool.

The beautiful greens rinsed and ready...

A few cutting tips:

Chopped and ready:

In the bowl all together, and then with a very simple dressing:

Dressing:

How did I make the very simple dressing you ask? I just took a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise (about 2-3 Tablespoons), added about 1 Tablespoon of citrus champagne vinegar (I used my favorite O Olive Oil Co. vinegar, but any champagne or white wine vinegar will work) and some fresh cracked pepper, then whisked together. Adjust according to your taste.

This made enough dressing to coat the whole container of greens (enough for 4 people) even though I only used half the container this time. My bad - I ended up with too much dressing, but it was still good!