A French country salad often contains asparagus over mixed spring greens and a Dijon vinaigrette. You could also add crumbled goat cheese, toasted walnuts or candied pecans, and roasted beets to this salad.

I kept mine simple with thinly sliced radish and steamed asparagus over a bed of spring greens. Most French Country salad recipes will call for roasted asparagus. If you prefer roasted asparagus, that would also be great in this salad.

My Pinot Noir balsamic vinaigrette includes Maille classic Dijon old-style grain mustard, and so it is a bit of a twist on the classic Dijon vinaigrette. I recommend using the best olive oil and balsamic that you can find to create the freshest tasting salad dressing. I used the Rosé Pinot Nero Balsamic and Arbequina mild extra virgin olive oil from the Olive Oil Co which is a great local shop in Barrie, Newmarket, and Midland. Arbequina olive oil is the typical variety from northern Spain has a sweet and mild flavour. I love this oil in my vinaigrettes.

This is the salad that I made for our beach picnic. I wanted a simple light salad to go with our charcuterie board.

Recipe:

For the Salad:

1 large bunch fresh spring mix greens

1/2 pound of asparagus (trim off tough ends)

3-5 small radishes

For the Pinot Noir Balsamic Vinaigrette: 

1/2 cup Arbequina olive oil

1/4 cup Pino Nero balsamic vinegar

1/4 freshly squeezed lemon

1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped shallot (about 1/2 medium shallot)

1-2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 tsp freshly ground Pink Himalayan salt

1 tsp Maille Old-Style Mustard

1 tbsp dark maple syrup

Directions:

For the salad:

1. Thoroughly rinse spring greens and place them in a serving bowl.

2. Thinly slice radishes.

3. Steam asparagus in a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan without fully submerging the asparagus. Cover and steam for 3-5 minutes. Let cool. *you could add a dash of salt & pepper while steaming.

4. Make your dressing. Toss greens in dressing until lightly coated.

5. Place radishes and cooled asparagus over greens.

For the Pinot Noir balsamic vinaigrette:

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small measuring cup.