My favorite quick salad
Salads are a weekly occurrence in my house, both because I need to cut my fat intake and because I truly love them. That familiarity can bring with it a sense of boredom from time to time, so I make at least a hundred different dishes that fall under the category of salad. The recipe that follows is my latest creation and it has taken the lead in the constant race for my favorite, largely because it is so simple.
What follows is my basic recipe, which changes on a regular basis based entirely on what fresh produce I have available to me at any given time:
INGREDIENTS
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- green leaf lettuce
- tomatoes
- red onion (which is actually purple)
- carrots
- celery
- radishes
- salt and pepper
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
- sunflower seeds
- sliced hard boiled egg
- canned tuna
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash and break lettuce into bite sized pieces in individual salad bowls.
- Into a small sealable container, cut tomatoes, red onion, carrots, celery and radishes into whatever size is best for you. I cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch chunks, slice the onion quite thin, slice the carrots, celery and radishes.
- Drizzle vegetables with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover container and shake lightly to coat. Allow mixture to stand for at least 15 minutes to marinate.
- Drizzle lettuce greens with olive oil.
- Spoon vegetable mixture atop the lettuce and add any optional ingredients you might want at this time.
- Serve!
This is truly delicious, in fact I made it for a late night dinner last night and it is quite satisfying without anything that is bad for you at such a late hour. The preparation time is minimal and the result is delicious!
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll share my favourite summer salad recipe below - it’s amazingly yummy. No specific measurements are given as my friend copied the ingredients from an organic salad bar, but really - you can’t go wrong!
Lentil Salad
2 Cans of Lentils
Sundried Tomatoes (Julienne cut)
Green Onion
Garlic
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Lemon Juice
Parsley
Salt, Pepper
Drain the Lentils and rinse them. Cut up a large amount of fresh parsley and add to lentils. Next, chop up about 3 green onion, finely and add. Then add 2-6 cloves of garlic depending on your taste. Chop up about a third of a jar of sundried tomatoes…Unico are the best, and add. Throw about 3 tablespoons of the sundried tomato oil into the mix, rather than just using plain olive oil. This is more flavorful. Add salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and cilantro to taste.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Ok, just remembered this one too - also super yummy.. wonderful for using up day old bread!
Italian Bread Salad
2/3 loaf Italian or French bread, day old or older
2 cups peeled & diced english cucumber (i did not peel)
1 medium red or green pepper, cut into 1/4 inch dice (i did not do that
small)
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley,chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar (i used red wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Trim crust from bread and tear by hand into 1 inch pieces (ok, i did
not totally trim crust, just the really crusty bits, and i did not do
all pieces so small). should have 7-8 cups breach cubes, total. Dump
in large bowl, add cucumber, pepper, onion, tomatoes, parsley, basil.
Toss gently
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and
pepper. Drizzle over salad and toss well. Serve immediately.
4 to 6 servings.