Ageless Diet Recipe: Salad Bucheron (Vegan Style)

This salad is inspired by one of my favorite dishes at Fast and French in Charleston, SC. Fast and French was kind of my local hangout, close to where I lived, they had good French press coffee, well priced meals with wine, and easy going vibe. It’s Fast and French, what’s not to like? The original Salad Bucheron at Fast and French is tart and sweet, with a lemony, sesame dressing, roasted peanuts, raw mushrooms, raisins, and a creamy kind of bland goat cheese. All these ingredients work to make for a fairly tasty salad. So I wanted to make this old favorite more Ageless Diet™ style by tweaking the ingredients. And even though I’m keeping the name Bucheron in the recipe, it’s actually dairy free, sans bucheron! To make this dairy free and still rich and creamy tasting, I’ve added tahini to the dressing. I like avocado in this instead of goat cheese. It’s got that kind of agreeable bland richness that accents nicely with the tart dressing. I’m using tart cherries instead of raisins because they’ve got a more complex flavor, and they’re really good for you. I also prefer walnuts – hazelnuts work too – in this instead of peanuts. I buy raw walnuts (organic) and toast them, and then I roughly chop them.

Bucheron Salad

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 head organic romaine lettuce
• 1 organic lemon, squeezed
• 1/4 cup olive oil, more as needed
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 avocado, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup dried tart cherries (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup organic button mushrooms, sliced

Preparation:

1. Whisk together the juice from the lemon, olive oil and salt until emulsified, add in the tablespoon of tahini. Stir until fully blended. Taste and adjust seasoning. And adjust consistency to your liking. Adding more oil and tahini if you want it thicker, richer tasting, and for thinner, tangier dressing, add more lemon juice.
2. Chop the romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl, put the lettuce, sliced mushrooms, and avocado, and drizzle the dressing over this and coat each leaf, mushroom, and avocado chunk. Add the walnuts and tart cherries, making sure they too are coated with dressing. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the salad and toss again. Serve in bowls with a glass of good French table wine. Enjoy!