Make Your Own Mesculin (Daily Dish)
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| Sun, 05-23-2004 - 6:42am |
Make-Your-Own Mesclun

(Published 5/23/04) Mixed greens, or mesclun, is expensive. To cut costs, pick up a couple of different lettuces and make your own. A good produce department will have everything you need within reach. In fact, start to look at the rows of greens as a veritable palette from which to choose, mix, and match. Great lettuces include red leaf, oak leaf, Boston, Bibb, and Romaine. At usually less than a dollar a head, you can't go wrong. Remove their hearts and roughly chop with herbs like basil, sorrel, parsley, chives, cilantro, tarragon, or mint. Toss those together with other greens like Belgian endive, radicchio, escarole, arugula, dandelion greens, mustard greens, and baby spinach for greater texture and flavor. To keep salad greens fresh, make sure they're dry, and store them with a paper towel to help absorb moisture in a plastic storage bag perforated with a knife to allow air to circulate. To prevent delicate leaves from becoming limp and wilted, never season or dress a salad until just before serving.
Cathy

