Arts
Create Your Own Salad with Panache
10.19.11
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.
