Salad and a Saison

Photo credit: Chris Kleiv Crabb

What's the best way to eat a salad? With a beer of course!

This week we made our TV debut on KGW's afternoon show, Portland Today, demoing a winter salad that features a new apple variety, Pazazz. We were contacted by the Pazazz people a few weeks ago, found multiple ways to enjoy this relative-to-Honeycrisp apple and got to be the local face for their apple on an installment of the show's In the Kitchen segment. Watch us in action!

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to find a beer to pair with this salad and after taking under advisement the suggestions of many of our fellow beer and foodie friends we found one. That beer is Ready Player One, a dry-hopped Saison from Level Beer. The fruity, flavorful beer compliments the mild sweetness of the salad yet remains restrained enough to let all of its flavors come through. 

Many thanks to the Pazazz people! This was a great experience and it's likely this easy, tasty salad will be a return visitor at our table.

Crunchy Winter Salad with Pazazz Apple

Recipe courtesy of Pazazz

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

2 cups chopped red cabbage

1 Pazazz apple, chopped

6 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup pomegranate arils (the red, edible "seeds")

Toss together romaine lettuce, red cabbage and Pazazz apple. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar and honey and drizzle over salad. Toss to distribute the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Top with pomegranate arils.

Notes:

- Pazazz apples can be found in Portland at Sheridan's in SE and QFC. Don't peel 'em! Not only does the skin add color to the salad but there are nutrients in there.

- Any honey can be used but our honey of choice is The Barreled Bee barrel-aged honey.

- Pomegranates are a bit fussy but containers of just the "seeds" can be found in most produce sections.

- Make the salad more hearty by adding a protein of choice (i.e. shredded chicken) or grated mozzarella cheese.