Field salad is a type of edible green vegetable that can be used in any salad made with fresh, small leafy greens. It includes Valerianella locusta, also known as salad corn, field lettuce, lamb’s lettuce or Rapunzel. It is hardy to -4°F (-20°C) and can be grown during colder months. A field green salad may include dandelions, mustard greens, spinach, arugula, and several types of lettuce. All types of field salad are rich in nutrients.
Field salad is both the name for a specific type of edible green vegetable, and the name for any salad made with the leaves of a variety of fresh, small leafy greens. The Valerianella locusta plant is also called salad corn, field lettuce, lamb’s lettuce or Rapunzel. The plant was once harvested from the wild in Europe, then grown freely throughout North America and Europe.
An early spring lettuce, field lettuce is hardy to -4°F (-20°C), so it can be grown during the colder months in areas where the soil doesn’t freeze in winter. However, the plant tends to bolt, or rush to seed, in warm weather rather than producing edible leaves. The plant produces long, oval-shaped leaves in a loose rosette or head, and is usually harvested when young and tender.
A field green salad may include this ingredient as well as dandelions and mustard greens, spinach, arugula, and several types of lettuce. Commercially, a field salad blend of young rocket, curly endive, field lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, radicchio, and red chard is packaged as a spring greens or mesclun salad mix. A gardener, with a small amount of space, can easily grow a low maintenance field salad or mesclun mix by spreading a blend of lettuce and greens in a sunny location and keeping it well watered.
The popularity of this salad has resulted in many versions of the field greens salad recipe. Intense or tangy field greens, such as arugula, dandelion greens, Swiss chard, Belgian endive and chicory, can be blended with mild, creamy ingredients. A blend of lightly chopped cheddar or smoked gouda, strawberries or orange segments, sliced avocado, and sliced matchstick jicama can provide a tasty salad full of variety and crunch.
The more delicate field salad types, with bibb, butter, radicchio, corn salad, romaine and watercress, can be combined with many ingredients. This Field Greens Salad recipe tosses rich blue cheese, dried cherries, cranberries or blueberries, apple chunks, and walnuts or pecans in a raspberry dressing or balsamic vinaigrette. Another recipe calls for mixing field salad with kumquats, strawberries, pesticide-free rose petals, and poppy seeds.
All types of field salad are rich in nutrients. Greens and lettuces are high in fiber, beta-carotene, potassium, vitamins A, C, D, and E, folic acid, and iron. Original field lettuce, or corn salad, also contains omega-3 fatty acids, making it a healthy and affordable food source.
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