A Simple Summer Salad To Write Home About
The right selection of stuff on top of lettuce makes the difference between a dutiful salad and a professional salad.
I say selection, because with salads less really can be more. Often a mediocre salad, edited, would have been a great salad, in my opinion. Especially this time of year when the farmstand abundance practically begs you to put in more and more and more. Maybe so at the beginning of the CSA week, but by the end, with just a few scraps left, editing is a lot easier. Fortunately for me, what I found myself left with morphed beautifully into a salad that reminded me slightly of a sabich sandwich: beets, eggs, and cucumbers for crunch. I added croutons, because I always do.
This particular edit totally worked. But that’s not really a sign of any big salad talent over here; fewer ingredients just have a higher chance of success. This approach also means you spend less time prepping and more time out of the kitchen on summer afternoons.
And, in case you read last week’s post and were wondering, well what do I put that yogurt dressing on?? Here’s one delicious thing!
- ¼ cup not-too-thick yogurt
- 1 small clove garlic
- about 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- Salt
- Olive oil
- 1 thick slice whole wheat bread
- A few handfuls of green leaf lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (here's how to hard boil an egg), roughly chopped
- ½ kirby cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1 cooked beet, peeled and sliced (here's how to cook a beet)
- ¼ avocado, cubed
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Taste for balance of flavors and add more salt, lemon juice, or oil as needed.
- Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and the slice of bread. Fry until golden, then flip, adding more oil if the pan is dry. When the second side is golden, remove to a plate and cut into squares. Put them into a large bowl, then add the greens, egg, and cucumber. Toss with most of the dressing and scoop into a serving bowl. Arrange the beets and avocado on top and drizzle with a bit more dressing.
