Out of all of the traditional Christmas dinner sides there are, I feel that salad is the most underrated. I think its often overlooked, and as a very pro-salad consumer, I think its time to change that. This year I’m all about the holiday salad.
The key is a good dressing. I’m sharing my delicious chamomile tea balsamic vinaigrette and its the perfect punch for this salad. Just in time for the holidays!
This recipe consists of two parts. The first part is the salad itself. The second part is the chamomile tea balsamic vinaigrette. The salad is pretty straight forward. The dressing requires a little bit of prep work and some time for the ingredients to infuse.
To begin, there are two ways to infuse vinegar. The best way to do it is with the cold infusion method. Pour the chamomile buds into a jar or non-plastic/metal container (vinegar reacts with metal and plastic) then pour the vinegar over the buds. Allow them to infuse for 2-4 weeks. Be sure to give it a shake every now and then while it’s infusing.
If you’re in a rush and don’t have the opportunity to wait 2-4 weeks for an infusion, you can cheat with a quick method. Using a double boiler, bring the vinegar to a simmer then add the chamomile buds. Allow the vinegar and chamomile to infuse for about 5 minutes or so then pour the content into a glass bottle for storage.
I love the look of the chamomile mixed in vinegar so I usually don’t strain my infusions after they have processed. If you’d like to remove the chamomile buds, strain the infusion to separate the vinegar before storing. It’s a very simple process and super easy to use whenever you’d like to make your own infused dressings. Feel free to experiment and make your own recipes!
HOLIDAY SALAD (WITH CHAMOMILE TEA BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE)
Ingredients
- 2 cups of spring greens
- 1 small Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of walnuts
- 1/3 cup of dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup of blue cheese crumbles
- Chamomile tea balsamic vinaigrette, to taste*
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper
*Chamomile Tea Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 12 ounces of white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon dried chamomile (3/4 cup of fresh chamomile)
Directions
- In a glass container, add chamomile buds and top off with white balsamic vinegar and allow it to infuse for 2-4 weeks.
- To rush the chamomile and lavender infusion process, use a double boiler to heat the vinegar. Add the chamomile buds and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes or so.
- In a medium salad bowl, add all of the salad ingredients together and toss.
- Pour over the dressing and toss again.
- Enjoy!