Lemon Herb Garden Salad

Lemon Herb Garden Salad

Just about 10 feet outside my kitchen door in a raised bed, you'll find one of my favorite things about summer cooking; fresh garden herbs. Even if you only have space for a large clay or plastic pot on a patio, balcony or doorstep, I'd encourage you to fill it with a variety of your favorite herbs. There is simply nothing like having fresh chives, oregano, basil, dill or whatever you have space for, to use in so many great summer meals. Rosemary, dill, tarragon and thyme are also favorites from my jam packed little herb garden.

My friend Ellen started her own herb collection this year and dropped by with some of her surplus including a favorite herb here in Newfoundland, summer savoury. It is fragrant and sweet and when dried is much preferred to sage in this neck of the woods as the herb of choice for poultry stuffing. If you can find it or grow it yourself, I highly recommend it.

With such a surplus of herbs on hand, I turned to one of my favorite ways to enjoy the summer herb bounty; as a supplement to salad greens. Almost any combination of soft, tender leaved herbs can work but the stronger flavored, woodier herbs like rosemary may not be the best choice. In this particular salad we had dill, summer savoury, fennel fronds, chives and parsley. Use whatever salad greens and vegetables you have on hand or are in season in the garden or local farmer's market.

Since herbs and lemon are a natural flavor combination we served a simple Honey Lemon Dressing with the salad. The presentation idea here is to serve the dressing in a shot glass in the center of the plate so folks can choose for themselves how much they want to drizzle over this delicious, fresh summer salad.

Lemon Honey Salad DressingMakes about 3/4 cup



Zest your lemons before juicing them. I like to sprinkle the finely grated zest over the finished salad for an extra burst of flavor and freshness.

Whisk together well or shake together in a covered mason jar:

• juice of 2 lemons
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to season