Tangy Jarred Salads with Sauerkraut, Hot Peppers, Pickles, & Mustard Dressing

“In matters of healing the body or the mind, vacation is a true genius!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan

The glory of spring break stretches before me in the beauty of a week with few obligations. Even my normal weekend marathon of food prep has come to a delicate halt. I made a loaf of bread and will make dinner salads from scratch this week (I may prep a few jarred salads tomorrow to grab for a quick-lunch or dinner. Mid-week I will make soup and get a jump on next week’s food prep to free up time on the weekend). However, my main focus this week will be posting all of the new recipes that have been building up for the past couple months that I have not had the luxury of time (or energy) to post.

A few weeks ago as I was contemplating the Mason jar salads that I bring to work each day for lunch, I decided that I wanted a very non-traditional salad. At the time I was fiercely craving sauerkraut. I love the combination of hot peppers, pickles, and mustard with sauerkraut and my affinity for tart and tangy gave rise to this delicious salad creation. I confess that it may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it and will be making it again soon.

If you are not familiar with Mason jar salads you may want to read this post where I give some tips and information about making jarred salads.

MUSTARD DRESSING

1/2 cup of raw apple cider vinegar (Or your vinegar of choice. Since homemade dressings can be made to suit individual tastes, I always recommend that you add vinegar to meet the level of tartness that you enjoy.)
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard (I have also used plain yellow mustard or spicy brown)
1 clove of garlic
1 Teaspoon onion
1/4 cup of olive oil (You can add more depending on taste. You could also skip the oil and add the oil directly to each salad, or to the jar, to maintain portion control. I usually make my dressing without oil and add 2 teaspoons to each jar or to the salad if it is plated.)
Salt and pepper to taste.

TANGY JARRED SALADS WITH SAUERKRAUT, HOT PEPPERS, PICKLES, & MUSTARD DRESSING

I added the following and divided into five ~ 1 quart Mason jars:

3 Tablespoons Mustard Dressing (per jar)
4 chopped carrots
1 large sliced cucumber
1 chopped green bell pepper
10 sliced radishes
1 can of sauerkraut
Chicago Style Hot Peppers (I added a couple of Tablespoons per jar. Banana peppers or jalapeno also work well)
Dill pickles (A couple TabIespoons per jar. I used my mom’s should-be-world-famous dill pickles)
1 quart of halved grape tomatoes
1 container of alfalfa sproutsPrintable Recipe: Tangy Jarred Salads with Sauerkraut, Hot Peppers, Pickles, & Mustard Dressing

This salad would make a wonderful side for summer picnics and I cannot wait to try it with homemade sauerkraut. This salad may be very taste specific, but you can alter it meet you own personal tastes. Mason jar salads have really changed the way that I look at salads and I love the creativity that coming up with new combinations affords me. Make sure that you check out my Salad Tab for other ideas.

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