Fall salad with tangy mustard dressing

Issue 49: A seasonal salad featuring a dressing from Andy Baraghani's new cookbook.

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One of my favorite things about Andy Baraghani’s new cookbook, The Cook You Want To Be, is the “ Mighty Little Recipes” section. There, he gives cooks an arsenal of acidic, crunchy, green, hot(or not), and creamy sauces that can be used on a variety of things, and they also show up throughout recipes in the book.

It’s the section in the book that I come back to most, using the Creamy Nuoc Cham on multiple Vietanamese-inspired dinners or the Tahini Ranch on a summer salads. I did try to make his aioli recipe and failed miserably, but that’s a me problem.

In speaking with Andy for our interview, I asked him about the “mighty” section and he gave me permission to reprint my newest obsession from the section: Tangy Mustard Dressing. In his words, the dressing is “Frenchy, overly mustardy, and garlicky,” which is exactly how I like my dressings. I made this dressing to go with a simple fall salad, but he suggests you serve it with boiled potatoes or over slow-roasted salmon. It also shows up in his Parmesan-Kale Chip Salad later in the book.

Fall Salad with Tangy Mustard Dressing

Tangy Mustard Dressing

1 garlic clove

1 small lemon

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup red wine vinegar

⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Using a Microplane, finely grate the garlic clove into a medium bowl. Finely grate the zest from the lemon into the bowl, then halve the lemon and squeeze about 2 tablespoons lemon juice into the bowl, catching any seeds with your other hand. Add the mustard and vinegar and then whisk in the olive oil until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. You want to taste a slight prickle. The vinaigrette keeps, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

Salad

1 large bunch kale (lacinato, purple, baby kale, etc), thinly sliced

About 2 pounds roasting vegetables. I have been loving delicata squash, but anything fall and roasty would work here: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, brussels sprouts, etc. Peel and deseed vegetables, if needed. Cut up into small pieces, about 1in.

8oz Feta, crumbled

1/3 cup roasted pepitas

Chives, finely chopped, for topping

Olive oil

Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss the vegetables with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until they start to caramelize, about 35-45 minutes.

Toss the kale, roasted vegetables, and feta with dressing. Plate and top with pepitas and herbs.