Warm Ham and Vegetable Salad with Charred Eggs and Creamy French Mustard Vinaigrette

Summer is the time for salad.   I was beyond thrilled to find that a big tub of Spring Mix salad was one of the things that they had a plethora of in the food bank the last time I visited.  It was being handed out in addition to our other choices.  I enjoy warm salads as well as cold, and I find that my stomach deals better with the cooked and partially cooked vegetables.

I always like to have a protein with my salad, and pre-cooked diced ham seemed to fit perfectly in this salad.  I know I like ham and mustard, so I also wanted a mustard vinaigrette, but a creamy one.  A good blender is your best friend when it comes to dressings.. a quick pulse and voila a creamy dreamy dressing for your salad.

Although I try to eat low carb, this salad just begged for croutons.  I had some delicious cheesy bread that i cut into cubes and baked at 350 Degrees for a few minutes until crispy.  You could also use store bought croutons

While the croutons baked, and the dressing chilled, I cooked the veggies and ham.  I just sauted them in butter until they were cooked.  The eggs were cooked in the same pan, with more butter, just until the bottoms were set.  The eggs were cooked the rest of the way with my kitchen torch

 

My bowl says it all, I love to “play” with my food, and I enjoy using different kitchen tools. My kitchen torch is one of my favorites. So I goofed around until I got what I wanted. It was fun, and the results pretty tasty.

This salad makes 4 dinner sized servings or 6-8 lunch sized servings. Once broken the egg yolk will run down into the salad, making the dressing even more decadent.

 

Warm Ham and Vegetable Salad

with

Charred Eggs

and

Creamy French Mustard Vinaigrette

 

• ½ cup walnut or olive oil
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Pinch fleur de sel
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter, divided
• 8 oz. diced ham
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, diced
• 1 medium yellow squash, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 8 cups spring mix salad greens, washed and dried
• 8 eggs
• Croutons – if desired

 

Mix first 8 ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use

Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a large saucepan.   Sauté ham and mushrooms until ham is browned, and mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.   Stir in squash, bell pepper, and peas.  Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender and heated through.  Set aside for 5 minutes.

Place fresh salad greens in large bowl.  Toss with warm veggies.  Plate salad.

In the same pan that you cooked the ham and veggies in, melt the other tablespoon of butter.  Fry eggs in butter just until bottoms are set.  Season with salt and pepper.  Using a kitchen torch, cook the tops of the eggs until whites are set and eggs are charred and blistered.

Slide two eggs on top of each salad. Char again if desired.

Mix vinaigrette well, drizzle over top of salad.  Sprinkle with croutons. Serve warm.