Italian Chopped Salad

Sometimes you need a really hearty salad. Winter is an especially good time for this because all the ingredients are widely available all year long. 

This salad has everything: lettuce, cheese, meat, chickpeas, onions, peppers, and a dressing packed with oregano and garlic. It's a real treat. An excellent meal on its own or a great side dish with soup or a sandwich.  It will serve 4 as a meal or more as a side.

The recipe comes from Nancy's Chopped Salad in the Mozza cookbook, via Smitten Kitchen.

Here's what you need for this delicious salad.

Spring Lobster Salad with Corn, Potatoes & Tarragon

It's finally starting to feel like spring around here.  So I decided to celebrate with a simple but luxurious dinner salad.  

Tarragon is easily found in most grocery stores. It's has a liquorice flavour that's a great match for lobster.  

This recipe is inspired by Epicurious but I made some small changes.  

Here's what you need to serve two as a main course or four as a starter:

Chef's Salad with Home Made Ranch Dressing

Having a salad for dinner is in no way deprivation with this meaty, hearty chef's salad.   

I've long known that making your own salad dressing is best.  A vinaigrette made at home from oil, vinegar or citrus juice and fresh herbs beats bottled dressings with their sweeteners  binders and preservatives hands down.  Little did I know how easy it is to make a creamy ranch dressing with buttermilk, sour cream and fresh herbs.  

Leftover Steak Salad

Last Sunday my husband surprised me by making me some massive T-bone steaks, baked potatoes and fresh, local asparagus for dinner.  The steaks were delicious but obviously way more than the two of us could finish.  

I love leftover steak.  

Portobello Quinoa Salad

Here's another hearty, vegetarian main dish salad.  With protein-rich quinoa and meaty portobello mushrooms, you won't miss the meat.

There are a couple of methods for cooking quinoa.  You can boil it in a pot full of water like pasta, then drain when cooked, or you can cook it more like rice in just slightly more water than grains. The water will be absorbed into the quinoa as it cooks.  I don't have any preference and usually just use whatever method the recipe calls for.  

For this one, use the rice method.  Boil 1 cup of water and add 2/3 cup of quinoa plus a sprinkle of salt and hot chili flakes.  Simmer, covered for about 12 minutes then remove from heat, let stand covered for 5 more minutes and then fluff with a fork.

For the salad you'll also need portobello mushrooms, pepper, cucumber and salad greens - spinach, romaine or a mixed blend.  

For the dressing/marinade you need sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, fresh ginger and garlic.

Mix 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger with 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons sesame oil and 2 teaspoons honey.  

Take your portobello mushrooms...

... remove the stems and scrape out the gills with a spoon.  Brush both sides of the mushrooms with the sesame ginger dressing.

Grill the mushrooms along with a seeded red or green pepper over a hot grill until charred and tender.

Meanwhile, slice ribbons of cucumber with a vegetable peeler, turning the cucumber to slice each side.

Chop the grilled pepper and add to the quinoa along with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.

To assemble the salad, dress salad greens with lightly with the sesame ginger dressing.

Add to the plate with the ribbons of cucumber.

Top with a grilled portobello mushroom cap.

Then top the mushroom cap with the quinoa pepper mixture and drizzle more dressing over top.
This is a hearty, healthy salad.  It's full of protein and nutrients and tastes great!  

Curried Quinoa Mango Salad

This salad has been a staple in our house for years. My husband loves it. We generally have it as a side dish with grilled chicken or pork, but it is excellent as leftovers for lunch the next day. 

I can't believe I haven't written about this salad before!  Quinoa is so good for you.  It is a grain that's full of protein. I also like the nutty flavour and slightly crunchy texture.  It comes in red, white, and rarer varieties like black.  I like to use a combination of the red and white for a nice colour contrast.  I buy it at Bulk Barn but you can get it at any supermarket.  I also like to buy grain and lentil mixes that contain quinoa.  If you're looking for it, it's pronounced KEEN-wah.

This is another big winner from Epicurious.  You'll need 1 cup of quinoa (I was a little short so just made it with 2/3 of a cup and it still worked out fine). Plus white wine vinegar, mango chutney, curry powder, dry mustard, a fresh mango, cucumber and salad greens (spinach, arugula or spring mix is great).

You can rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  I sometimes skip this step and don't find it makes much difference.  Add the grains to boiling water and simmer about 12 minutes, then drain and cool.

While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing.  I like to double the recipe so there's lots of dressing, plus extra for leftovers.  

Take 2 tablespoons mango chutney (chopped up if chunky), 3 teaspoons curry powder and 1/2 a teaspoon dry mustard.

Mix in 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar and 1/2 cup olive or canola oil.  That's it!

Next, chop an English cucumber.

And some green onions.

Then chop the mango.

And add it to the cucumber and onions.

Add the quinoa.

And mix in half the dressing.

And toss to combine.

To serve, pile some salad greens on a plate. This is baby romaine but you can use spinach or any green. 

Top with the quinoa vegetable mixture.

Then drizzle with a little more dressing.

This salad can be a full meal or a hearty side dish. The slightly spicy curry and chutney with the sweet mango and fresh cucumber is a great combination.  Easy, healthy and highly recommended.

Roasted Eggplant, Beet and Lentil Salad

This is a healthy summer salad that turned out pretty well.  We didn't love it but it was pretty nice.  Unfortunately the camera lens may have been a little dirty and these pics look a little blurry.  

I saw some cute baby eggplants at the market that I used for this recipe.  

You'll also need a large-ish beet and some lentils.  You can use plain brown lentils.  I used this sprouted lentil  and bean mix.

You'll also need oil and balsamic vinegar, salad greens, a cucumber and some goat's cheese.

Slice the eggplant into discs about 1/2 inch thick.

Sprinkle with salt and a bit of oil and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Peel the beet and slice into 1/2 inch half-moons.  Sprinkle with oil and salt and place on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake the eggplant and beets at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, then flip and bake 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, cover the lentils with water, add some salt and bring to a boil.  Simmer about 10 minutes and then remove from heat and let stand, covered, for about 10 more minutes.

Once the lentils are done, drain them and let them cool a bit.

Chop the cucumber.

Mix with the lentils in a bowl and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Remove the roasted eggplant and beets from the oven.

Place some salad greens on a plate.

Top with the balsamic lentils and cucumbers.

Then top with the roasted beets and eggplant.  

Then crumble the goat's cheese over the salad and serve. A nice, hearty, healthy summer salad.