Fruit Truck Salad

Hoorah for "fruit truck" day in Banff. Fresh B.C. produce. Let's make a big ass salad shall we...

You will need whatever fruit and vegetables your local market has to offer. I used:

1/2 cucumber, sliced thin then chopped in half
1/2 big yellow paddy pan squash, sliced thin then chopped in half
3 radishes, sliced with a vegetable peeler
2 apricots, cut into wedges
a couple handfuls of blueberries
one package of Earthbound Organics baby arugula (no, the market didn't have baby arugula, booo)
one green onion, sliced thin
a handful of raw walnut pieces (pine nuts are great on this salad but I didn't have any)


Preserved Lemon + Dill Vinaigrette
(I made this dressing up last year and loved it so much I put it in a cook book that I made for a friend)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh baby dill
3/4 of a preserved lemon rind, chopped small (recipe to follow)
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 small white onion, chopped small
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped small
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sake (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until onion and lemon are very broken down but not 100% smooth (but pretty much). You can probably use a food processor for this too. You want itsy bitsy pieces of the lemon and onion and flecks of dill.

Throw everything into a bowl except the nuts (unless you want to throw the nuts in, I'm not there to judge you) and toss really well to coat with vinaigrette.


Preserved Lemons
Ok, so I take 2-3 months to make my lemons (actually, Grant Parry's lemons), at Pure Food and Wine they take 5 days- they are more efficient in NYC. I have only made this vinaigrette with my (Grant's) version of preserved lemons. They do not use sugar for their preserved lemons at Pure Food + Wine so if you use their version you may need to add a sweetener to the dill vinaigrette.

You need a large mason jar.
6-8 organic lemons (important to get organic because you eat the peel only)
1 package of sea salt
1 package of organic cane sugar

Stand lemon on end and cut 3/4 of the way through, vertically and again to create a "+" when looking straight down. In a large bowl, combine two cups of the salt with one cup of the sugar and mix well. Slightly open each lemon from the top and pack tightly with salt/sugar mixture and slightly close again. Place the lemons in the mason jar until you can't cram any more in. Pour the remaining salt/sugar mixture over the lemons in the jar and fill to the very top. Make more salt/sugar if you need to. Put the lid on the jar and leave it on your counter for 2-3 months. You may need to add more salt/sugar as time passes and the lemons become exposed on top. (Juice seeps out of lemons and melts the salt/sugar slightly)

Keep the lemons in the jar, even when ready. To use, cut the inner bits out and throw away, keep the rind. I usually rinse the rind before using to get rid of any excess salt/sugar.

This is my current jar of preserved lemons. I used very coarse salt, as you can see.

Pure Food and Wine 5 day Preserved Lemons
(Because you might not want to wait 2-3 months to make this salad)

7-8 lemons
2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons sea salt

Cut the lemons crosswise into very thin slices. Remove the seeds and place the lemon slices in a salad press or other container. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, water and salt and blend well. Pour over the sliced lemons and apply pressure with the salad press top or using another method to fully submerge the lemons in the liquid. Cover with a dish towel and set on counter for 5 days. Store in fridge after 5 days.

I love summer food!