On occasion in the summer – all I want for dinner are some beers, a nice, refreshing salad and some crusty bread. The warm weather can sometimes dampen the appetite, which is a conundrum for a good eater like me!
So how about a salad dressing made with beer? Elementary, my dear Watson! Especially one that has some tasty citrus notes in the ingredients twice over. There’s orange zest in the recipe and, for this one, choose an IPA that has some of that vibe to it. In the salad itself weave in some orange slices, toasted nuts and some greens that have a bitter edge, such as radicchio, arugula and the like. Dandelion greens are real good for this salad, too. Add some shaved Parmesan on top to bring in some salty edges, and you’ll feel satisfied.
I’m a beer fan and also a wine lover, so I need to throw some props to Food and Wine magazine, from which I pulled the basics of this dressing some years ago. It’s simple and delicious.
Ingredients
6 ounces India Pale Ale (finish the bottle while you’re preparing)
2 T. finely minced shallots
1 medium clove garlic, finely minced
1 T. finely grated orange zest
2 T. real honey
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
some freshly ground pepper and kosher salt, to taste
Directions
In a glass bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the oil. Slowly add the oil and keep on whisking. Season with pepper and salt and serve.
This will make a cup-plus of dressing, and will keep in the fridge for about a week, so you can definitely make ahead. Use the inside of the orange that you zested for the salad’s orange slices.
Lastly, if you don’t have a Microplane in your kitchen tools inventory, get one! It makes zesting and fine grating super easy, and pulls out more of the essential oils than a regular knife or other technique could ever do. Great tool. These folks still make tools for woodworking and brought that thinking to the kitchen.