Recipes for Health: Mâche Salad With Yogurt Dressing

[herbsandhelpers]

Mâche Salad With Yogurt Dressing

Mâche is a delicate green also known as lamb’s lettuce, and it’s now available in many Whole Foods stores and other supermarkets in the United States. It has a rich nutritional profile: It is very high in vitamin C, beta carotene, omega-3s and iron (it has even more than spinach). I love the contrast here between the mild, subtle mâche and the sharp, pungent garlic-spiked yogurt.

Ingredients

1 4-ounce bag mâche (about 5 cups), rinsed and spun dry

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons thick Greek-style or drained yogurt

1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), halved, green shoots removed

Optional: Halved cherry tomatoes, sliced roasted beets, chickpeas

Method

1. Place the mâche in a salad bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Toss with the mâche.

2. Combine the garlic cloves with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle and mash to a paste. Stir in the yogurt. Add to the salad and toss. Top with any of the optional ingredients, and serve at once.

Yield: Serves 4 as a side salad

Advance preparation: Serve this right after you toss it.

Nutritional information per serving (4 servings): 73 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 milligram cholesterol; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 13 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 1 gram protein

Recipe by Martha Rose Shulman{/color}