Scallion Tops?

Even after I learned how to cook I never thought about using the green parts of scallions! Probably because I was still a "recipe reader" and most recipes tell you to only use the white part.  Scallions are green onions by the way.....a description that you may find inconsistent in recipes.



It wasn't until I invited myself to visit and stay with my BFF Fawn Friday, Sfg level 2 (former professional Chef), that I learned that not only can you, and should you, use the green parts of the scallions, but how to make a very simple and fast salad dressing.  The simplest of salad dressings is oil and vinegar! And this is just two more ingredients: scallion greens, and honey!  And even the honey is optional, but it balances out the acid of the vinegar (or lime, or lemon, or combination of any of the three)



Yesterday morning I had to make some chicken salad (which I chose to make from store bought raosted chickens, by the way!)  and a large Quinoa Salad with spinach, roasted corn, tomatoes, and grilled summer squash, and Queso Fresco cheese, (and the white/light green part of the scallion!)  It's a salad I've made many times before, after first watching Fawn make it way back in 2007!  And I've posted it a few times here on this blog over the last 5 years.  You could easily dress the salad with just oil and vinegar, and still you would blow the socks off of company or at a pot luck, but why not make a dressing with a mild onion "bite", since you had to buy a bunch of scallions anyway.


Since there are only 4 ingredients in this dressing I decided to use an expensive olive oil (because I had it in my pantry).  Lemon, the green scallion tops, and about 2-3 tsp honey.  Do I have to list salt at this point?  Salt is a seasoning and should be a given!  A "gps" (good pinch of salt).


In a blender:

The top half of one bunch of scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
juice of one good sized lemon, or 2 small (2-4 tbl)
1/2 c. olive oil
good squeeze or heavy drizzle of honey
"gps"


I just threw it all in the blender and let it go for about 1-2 minutes.  Taste it!  Is it balanced? Does it need more acid? (vinegar or lemon/lime)  Does it need to be a bit sweeter? (more honey)  Does it have enough salt?


It will separate, which is why I included a picture of the dressing I made after sitting on my kitchen counter for about 45 minutes.  Just give it a quick stir before you dress your salad.  The best two things about this dressing? You use a part of a vegetable you might otherwise throw away, and you add some lovely nutrition provided by the dark green onion tops!  Oh....and scallions are cheap...three things!

I found that I only needed one half of this amount for my salad, so I've got another 1/3 c. or so for another later in the week.


How do you use scallion tops?


Salad:
1 c. quinoa, cooked = 2 c.
1 bunch of spinach (or packaged baby spinach)
2-3 ears roasted corn
1 basket of baby tomatoes (or large diced Heirlooms)
1 bunch sliced scallions (white and light green parts)
1/2 pound Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled OR 1/2 lb Cojita cheese (can be found at WF)
1/3 c green scallion and honey dressing