Cobb Mountain Garden Salad
By Cynthia L., Donna B. and Nash C. from Cobb Mountain Elementary School, Cobb, California.
Description
Fresh, local and designed to inspire!!
This salad is a springboard to encourage you to explore the local produce of your region. The fruits and nuts in your area may be pecans and peaches, hazelnuts and apricots, or walnuts and pears like we have in Lake County, California. Substitute what is grown in your region to make your salad unique! We can utilize our pears year-round by drying the fruit after fall harvest, or use fresh fruit if it is available. If using fresh, no reconstituting is necessary, just cook down the pear or apple juice on its own. We use pureed fruit in the dressing to replace some of the oil to reduce fat content. Our local dairy produces a goat cheese, but you can use any aged cheese, including parmesan.
We find the baby greens easy and fast for students to grow in the school garden, and perfect for this salad. Keeping the greens covered in the garden means we can have a year-round harvest in our climate. You can also substitute spinach or other lettuces if you would like. When students harvest the lettuce for the school salad, they show pride and enthusiasm in the lunch room!!
This flexible, adaptable salad side dish is a perfect addition to the school lunch program.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: one cup
| Calories | 121 |
| From Fat | 27.36% |
| From Saturated Fat | 6.9% |
| From Sugar | 20% |
| Sodium | 149mg |
Ingredients
| Ingredient | 6 servings | 50 servings |
|---|---|---|
| dried pear halves | 2 halves/1.5 oz. | 1 cup (16 halves)/12 oz. |
| pear juice | 1/4 cup/2 oz. | 1 1/2 cup/12 oz. |
| cider vinegar | dash | 2 TBLSP/1 oz. |
| honey | dash | 2 TBLSP/1 oz. |
| Dijon mustard | dash | 1/2 TBLSP/1 oz. |
| salt | dash | 1/2 tsp |
| black pepper, ground | dash | 1/2 tsp |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/4 tsp | 2 TBLSP |
| Mesclun Mixed baby greens | 6 cups/9 oz. | 50 cups/5 lbs |
| Grated hard goat cheese | 1/2 TBLSP | 3/4 cup/1 oz. |
| raw grated carrots | 1 1/3 cup/4.5 oz. | 5 1/2 cups/20 oz. |
| whole wheat saltines, low salt, low fat | packet of three | 50 packets of three |
| walnuts, chopped | 3 TBLSP/1 oz | 1 1/4 cup/5 oz. |
Preparation
Steep pears in two cups boiling water to reconstitute for 15 minutes, drain and cool. Chop 8 halves (one half for 6 servings) and set aside, chop the other 8 (one half for 6 servings) and simmer with pear nectar until reduced by half (about 20 minutes at medium heat). Puree with vinegar, honey, mustard and salt & pepper and olive oil in blender.
Put mixed greens in large mixing bowl, drizzle dressing over greens and mix together. Add remaining chopped plumped pear, walnuts and grated carrots and toss lightly. Portion out 1 cup of salad and top with 1/2 TBLSP grated aged cheese. Serve with packet of 3 whole wheat saltines.
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