Salad of Shallots and Thyme Honey

bluemoon downunder's Note:

When I first came across this recipe in 'real greek food', I began to appreciate what Greek chef and restaurateur Theodore Kyriakou meant when he said that "the term 'Greek Salad' is one of the most abused in the world. Greece (he proceeded to explain) has a large range of interesting and novel salads, nearly all of which require the ingredients to be wilted first, plus several interesting vegetable accompaniments". His recipe for Salad of Shallots and Thyme Honey is one such recipe. I am posting it for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. He urges those trying this recipe to use “delicious Greek thyme honey” and says that “The floral notes complement the sweet shallots”. I’ve not yet tracked down Greek thyme honey, though I’m sure I could do so – Melbourne being the largest Greek city outside of Greece! Even made with other honeys, this is a delicious salad, and certainly very different from what is generally served to non-Greeks as "Greek Salad" in Greek restaurants, and from any other salad I've ever eaten! If you're feeling adventurous, you'll give this recipe a try! I don't much like cauliflower, so when I made this, I used only broccoli and asparagus - an extra 100g of each.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 kg small shallot, peeled
• 200 g cauliflower, in florets
• 200 g broccoli, in florets
• 200 g asparagus, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
• 100 g rocket, washed and patted dry with paper towels

DRESSING

• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 50 ml white wine vinegar
• 130 g thyme honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seed
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the small shallots in boiling, salted water for 15-20 minutes; drain well and place them in a large salad bowl.
2. Blanch the cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes; drain and plunge into cold water and drain again. Add to the bowl, then add the rocket and mix together.
3. Prepare the dressing by blending the olive oil, vinegar, honey and mustard in a food processor; and season to taste.
4. Toss the vegetables in the dressing and sprinkle on the parsley and sesame seeds.
5. Serve at room temperature.

Reviews

[echo echo]

Well, I've never had shallots prepared this way before. The boiled shallots, barely cooked veggies and raw arugula blend very well together and the sauce is wonderful and accents the gentle savoriness of the shallots nicely. I served it to my sister and BIL tonight and they were very impressed. Thanks, Mordreth!

[ellie_]

Delicious and so adaptable to what is on hand too! I used just shallots, cauiflower (one head), and brocolli along with spinach (instead of rocket) making this a great salad for winter. I didn't have thyme honey so I used regular honey and threw in a good sprinkling of dried thyme-- salad was sweet and delicious! In the spring I want to try this with asparagus and some spring-time veggies for a change of pace. Thanks for sharing!