Arts & Culture | October 19, 2011

Salad restaurateur Erin Wade ’03 shares photos and two recipes

Erin Wade's special dressing recipes are sure to whet your appetite.

**Spinach Mushroom salad “with Seared Diver Scallops”** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Asian Beef salad** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Beet soup** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**The bar at Vinaigrette** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Wade designed the look of her restaurant, as well as its food.** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Erin Wade's farm in Nambé, New Mexico, a hamlet 20 miles north of Santa Fe** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Wade raises about 70 percent of Vinaigrette’s produce on her own land, and whatever happens to be thriving inspires her salad creations.** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Wade with one of her composting pigs, which recycle all the restaurant’s food waste** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Composting piglets on Wade's farm** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Fresh baby lettuce, ready for its close-up** | Photograph by Douglas Merriam

**Wade tends her three-acre garden, with a 1,200-square-foot greenhouse with help from one other gardener.** | Photograph by Cynthia Whitney-Ward

At Vinaigrette, Erin Wade’s 68-seat salad bistro in Santa Fe, a good dressing—complete with fresh ingredients—is a must-have accompaniment for her culinary creations. Farmer, chef, and owner of Vinaigrette, Wade ’03 is profiled in Harvard Magazine’s November-December Montage section and shares her secrets for two top-notch salad-dressing recipes below, as well as additional photos (see above) of menu offerings, the restaurant, and life on her 10-acre farm. Whether you are throwing a last-minute dinner party, want to impress your significant other, or crave a gourmet salad for one, Wade’s recipes can help you whip up a perfect dressing.

Champagne Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ cup champagne vinegar
2 tsp. creamy dijon mustard
¾ cup to 1 cup canola-olive oil blend

Combine all ingredients except the oil. Then add oil in a slow and steady stream, whisking to emulsify.

Cumin Lime Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 ½ tsp. of cumin powder
¼ cup lime juice
2 tsp. finely diced shallot
1 tbsp. honey
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Make a paste with the garlic and salt and then add remaining ingredients, except EVOO. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify.