Every good potluck needs a salad. A good salad. Not some greens served besides bottles of Kraft dressing. Not something coated in oil. There are two appropriate kinds of potluck green salads - ones with the dressing on the side (where only the unobservant fools who are too in a rush to get the food into their mouths to notice the accompanying vinaigrette miss out) and ones tossed in a dressing that generally everyone can enjoy. That means no cream, no heaps and heaps of mayonnaise, and no 4:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. Green salad at a potluck should not be the least healthy option. I hate feeling like a double serving of meat would be better for me than leafy greens because of some inconsiderate cook/guest. Breathe...This salad is so light but full of flavour from the sweet grapes and white wine vinegar (you can also make a version using pear, that works in exactly the same way, and just as well). No need to add honey or sugar, and the puréed fruit substantially reduces the amount of oil needed. As always, a good dijon is important, even if you're not as obsessed as I am. I am admittedly not quirk-free, but I know good salad. Trust me.
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup green grapes
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon dijon mustard (dijon will be much better than prepared yellow mustard, but use what you must)
1/4 cup basil, roughly chopped or torn
1/2 teaspoon onion, optional (shallots or sweet red onion work well. Yellow onions will be very pungent, but you're the one who'll have onion breath, so it's up to you to decide. If you make the vinaigrette in advance and let the flavours combine for a few hours in the fridge, it won't taste as strongly of onion)
A pinch of salt
Everything else:
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled (optional)
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
5 cups arugula (you can make the salad with any green but arugula has a bitterness to it that goes really well with the sweet grapes. Just don't use a crispy lettuce because the salad will seem too watery)
1 cup seedless red grapes, optionally sliced in half
1 cup seedless green grapes, optionally sliced in half
1 tablespoon pine nuts or walnuts
Instructions
1. Blend the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender or food processor. Easiest dressing ever. You could actually just skip the rest of the recipe and serve this with greens (and maybe some halved grapes) right now.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan (if you're not using shrimp, you'll only need a cup and a half of water brought to a boil). Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the celery to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute.
4. Drain the shrimp and celery and rinse them with cold water. Pat them dry and add them to the washed arugula in a large salad bowl (the bowl needs to be big enough to toss the salad without having grapes go everywhere. Use a few bowls if you have to).
5. Add the 2 cups of grapes to the salad bowl (you can slice the grapes in half if you want, but it takes awhile. Teeth work just fine).
6. Place the pine nuts or walnuts in a small frying pan (or in the toaster oven on a tray) over medium heat and cook (or bake at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 5 minutes or so, shaking the frying pan occasionally, until the nuts are fragrant and slightly darkened. Add them to the salad bowl.
7. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette.
8. Eat lots of salad.
9. Feel really good about yourself.
