Spring Nicoise Salad

With only a few days of spring remaining - why not try this delicious salad recipe?

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Salad Ingredients:
1 head of leaf lettuce
4 tomatoes, quartered
½ cucumber, sliced
1/3 each of sweet yellow, orange, and red-pepper, cut into strips
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
2 celery stalks, diced
2 green onion, chopped
1 potato, cooked, peeled, and cubed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese (optional)

Dressing:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt (optional)
¼ tsp coarsely ground pepper and granulated sugar (optional)

Directions:
On a platter, place lettuce.  Arrange tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, eggs, celery, green onion, potato, mushroom, and cheese, on lettuce.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.  In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar; drizzle over salad just before serving.