The Spring ‘Tonic’ Salad

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Spring is known as a time for rejuvenation and rebirth. Spring tonic recipes traditionally utilize the early greens and plants to help cleanse the body, restoring fresh vitamins following a long (and often stagnant) winter.

This version of a spring tonic combines local greens, herbs and eggs with a hot bacon vinaigrette. All of these ingredients will be available locally at the Lexington Farmers’ Market — which celebrates its spring grand opening April 5-6 — in the early weeks of April.

For more information, times and locations of Lexington Farmers' Market, visit www.farmersmarket.com.

Our Spring Tonic Salad ingredients:

• A mix of local greens, including mustard greens, kale and chard, harvested from Berries on Bryan

• Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 tsp.

• Seeded, savory stone ground mustard, 1 tsp.

• Red Wattle Bacon from Hood's Heritage Hogs (Mt. Olivet, Kentucky) – 6 slices

• Missing Link Farm eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

• A mix of fresh herbs, including chives, peppery oregano, and French Sorrel from Michler’s Greenhouse

Recipe:

• Stir cider vinegar with seeded, savory mustard.

• Saute bacon, reserving the hot fat.

• Pour the hot fat from the pan over the greens in a heat-proof bowl; toss quickly and thoroughly.

• Add the vinegar-mustard mixture.

• Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Top with chopped bacon, sliced eggs, and fresh herbs.

Recipe text adapted from Rona Roberts, Savoring Kentucky. Photo by Sarah Jane Sanders. Staging assistance by Theresa Stanley.

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