summer salad

I love a big salad for lunch or dinner during summer. It is hard to go wrong with all of the plentiful produce at farm stands and farmer's markets right now. If you skip the pea shoots (or just add them to your plate) you can make this a couple hours before you plan to eat it. We ate ours with turkey burgers one night and enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.

SUMMER SALAD

1 zucchini, very thinly sliced (a mandoline makes this easy if you have one)

1 yellow summer squash, very thinly sliced

Juice of 2 lemons

1 japanese cucumber, sliced

2 -3 radishes, very thinly sliced

1 large heirloom tomato, chopped

2 small heirloom tomatoes, chopped

4 ears corn, boiled 2 miutes, cut from cob

1 large handful haricots vert, blanched, cut into bite size pieces 

1 handful pea shoots, roughly chopped

4 ounced feta (garlic and herb) broken into pieces

A handful of fresh herbs such a basil, oregano, mint

2 T olive oil

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Place sliced zucchini and squash in a salad bowl and toss with lemon juice to coat. Set aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients. Add all ingredients to zucchini and squash and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and serve.

chopped corn salad

When corn season is at it's peak this simple chopped salad is great. Just combine fresh corn cut from the cob, diced kirby cucumbers, diced avocado, freshly chopped cilantro, lime juice and sea salt. Delicious! 

summer lentil salad

This salad is inspired by a delicious lunch I had recently with my frineds from Purl. I have been making my own simple lentil salad for years but it does require a lot of chopping...something not everyone enjoys. In this new version, grated veggies make the prep much quicker, and a creamy avocado dressing brings it all together. 

If you want to prepare the lentils in advance they can be cooked and stored in a container in the refrigerator for several days. Be sure to reserve teh garlic and shallots too, for use in the dressing.

SUMMER LENTIL SALAD (serves 6-8)

1 cup french lentils

2 cloves garlic, papery skins removed

1 small shallot

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1 pint sugar snap peas

3 persian cucumbers

1/2 jicama, peeled

4 radishes

Greens such as pea shoots, micro arugula, mesclun (or whatever tender salad greens you like)

1/4 cup freshly chopped dill

2 avocadoes

1/4 cup rice wine venegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 lime

Combine lentils, garlic, shallot, and bay leaf in a pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon sea salt and taste for doneness - if they are tender drain and set aside. If the lentils are still hard check every few minutes until they are tender. Remove and discard bay leaf; reserve cooked garlic and shallot for the dressing.

Remove tough strings from the sugar snap peas (or snowpeas) and cut into bite sized pieces. Grate the cucumbers, jicama, and radishes using the largest holes on a box grater. Combine the grated vegetables, lentils, and dill in a large bowl. Cut avocados in half and add i half avocado to the jar of a blender. Add rice wine vinegar, olive oil, reserved garlic and shallot, and remaining teaspoon sea salt and puree. If the mixture is too thick add the water a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Toss the greens with the lentil mixture and some dressing (you may not want all of it so add it a bit at a time) and toss to coat. Cut remaining 1 1/2 avocados into bite sized pieces and toss with salad. Queeze lime over salad and serve immediately.

shaved zucchini salad

Last summer my favorite lunch spot Al Di La had a delicious zucchini salad on its menu - it consisted on ribbons of raw zucchini that had been dressed with a lemony dressing and some parmesan cheese. This recipe was inspired by that salad.

Very thinly slice 3 zucchini -- this is easiest with a mandolin, but can be done by hand. You can also use a vegetable peeler and make long ribbons if you prefer. Sprinkle the zucchini with some kosher salt and set in a colander to drain for about 10-15 minutes. This removes some of the moisture from the zucchini and gives it a great soft texture. Rinse under cold water to remove excess salt and dry on a layer of paper towel. Transfer to a bowl and squeeze the juice of a lemon or 2 over the zucchini. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil (not much is needed at all), add julienned mint leaves from a sprig or two of mint, and toss to combine. Taste and season with a pinch more salt if desired. Using a vegetable peeler slice big curls of parmesan from a hunk of cheese. Layer zucchini and parmesan on a plate and serve.