There are some restaurant dishes that just hit it. They hit the spot. Hit the nail on the head. Hit the ball out of the park. They are the dishes that you go to a restaurant knowing that’s what you’ll order. If not on the menu, you’ll ask, “Where’s the ….?”
When Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor of Sonoma’s Valley Bar & Bottle received a James Beard Award nomination for best chef in 2025, my first thought went to their Hippie Salad. Of course they have many other dishes that extend beyond this lovely mix of greens and seeds, but the Hippie Salad…Well, it’s in a world of its own.
Fresh picked little gem greens, pickled and raw veggies (often shaved), toasted pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds, a healthy handful of sunflower sprouts and a sprinkling of fresh edible blossoms all comes together under a light green goddess vinaigrette. I’m not a salad person per se (and a definite proponent of a light touch when it comes to dressing), so this one hits just right.
So after trying (quite unsuccessfully) to copy the salad at home with my farmers market finds, I was thrilled to find the recipe in a feature on the two chefs in Wineland: Celebrating the Heart of Sonoma, the new cookbook by Chef Charlie Palmer and writer Matt Villano with stunning photography by Emma Kruch. The trio and the chefs were kind enough to let us excerpt the recipe here—a good move as it’s the perfect introduction to a book full of Wineland stories and dishes to savor.
Hippie Salad
Ingredients
For the Valley Green Goddess Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup tahini
- ½ cup mixed fresh soft herbs (soft stems are okay), such as parsley, cilantro, basil, mint, dill, and/or tarragon
- ½ cup coarsely chopped scallions
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons capers
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the salad:
- 2 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated and washed
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup Valley Green Goddess Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
- Fresh lemon juice
- Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
- 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- ½ cup sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables
- ½ to 1 cup sliced or chopped (if necessary) raw vegetables, such as cucumber, radish, Tokyo turnip, and/or cherry tomato
- ½ cup sunflower sprouts
- 2 tablespoons edible flower petals, such as bachelor’s button, calendula, or nasturtium
Instructions
- To make the dressing, pour ½ cup water into a blender, then add the tahini (adding them in this order hopefully prevents the tahini from getting too stuck in the blender blades). Blend on medium speed until smooth and aerated.Add the herbs, scallions, vinegar, capers, mustard, and garlic and blend on medium speed until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides, then give it a few more pulses to combine. With the blender running on medium-high, slowly stream in the olive oil and blend until fully emulsified. You should have about 2 cups vinaigrette.If you’re not using the dressing immediately, transfer it to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using, bring to room temperature and whisk or shake well to reemulsify.To prepare the salad, place the lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, spoon the vinaigrette over the top, and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss thoroughly but gently, preferably with your hands. You want the greens to be well dressed, coated, and glistening. While they should not be weighed down, they should be assertively flavored. Taste the greens—do they need a pinch more salt? A little more dressing? A small drizzle of olive oil to get the dressing to emulsify better on the leaves? Did you overdo it and need to add a bit more lettuce? Pay attention. The lettuce is not properly dressed until it tastes utterly delicious. Divide the dressed lettuce between two plates. Sprinkle the pumpkin and sunflower seeds over the top, then top with the kraut and stud the raw vegetables between the leaves. Top the salad with the sunflower sprouts and a sprinkle of edible flower petals and serve.
WINELAND: Celebrating the Heart of Sonoma
Excerpted from Wineland by Charlie Palmer with Matt Villano (Artisan Books). Photographs by Emma Kruch. Copyright © 2026.
