Wild Arugula and Spinach Salad

This weekend I went to a Vegan potluck dinner.  My friend Melanie, made a Corn and Arugula salad that was a huge hit.  I could not believe how delicious it was.  I felt like I was at a fine dining restaurant. The dressing was made from scratch along with slicing the corn off the cob and putting it in to the salad.  All the tastes just went so well together.

The recipe was derived from the Corn and Arugula Salad recipe at allrecipes.com however Melanie made some changes to it and then I made a subtle change as well.  

Here it is and I will put notes of how I did it in red.

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  cider vinegar (I used unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar)
• 3  tablespoons  minced shallots
• 2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt (only added a dash, since I'm not a believer of using too much salt)
• 1/4  cup  olive oil
• 4  cups  fresh corn kernels (from 4 or 5 ears; see notes) (only used 1 cup, since I try and stay away from corn when I can, although it tastes delicious and kids love it!)
• 5  ounces baby arugula leaves (about 8 cups), rinsed and crisped (added Organic Baby Spinach Leaves to make it half and half)
• 2  teaspoons  coriander seeds

Original recipe calls for Radishes but did not use any at all.

NOTES: To cut kernels off ears of corn, pull off husks and silks; rinse ears. Hold each upright in a deep bowl; cut off kernels close to cob. Crush coriander seeds (step 3) up to 2 days ahead; store in a zip-lock plastic bag at room temperature. Make dressing (step 1) up to 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Prepare the vegetables and mix the salad (step 2) up to 4 hours ahead; cover and chill.  ( I made this whole salad in under 10 minutes without doing any of the above. However it probably would have taste even better if I prepared this ahead of time.) 

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, shallots, mustard, and salt until thick and emulsified. Gradually whisk in olive oil.

2. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over high heat, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add corn kernels and cook for 1 minute; drain, rinse with cold water until cool, and drain again. In a large bowl, combine corn, spinach, and arugula.

3. In a mortar, lightly crush coriander seeds (or place seeds in a zip-lock plastic bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin).

You can use already crushed coriander or use a pepper mill and grind it yourself if you don't own a mortar.

4. Pour dressing over the arugula and spinach mixture and gently mix to coat. Sprinkle salad with crushed coriander seeds. 

If you want to make it more of a complete meal with protein you can add pepita seeds to it. This is a vegan / vegetarian salad. Since I'm not vegetarian grilled salmon or organic chicken would go very nicely with this salad.  Enjoy!!!