Craveworthy Greens

photo by tim sackton, via flickr creative commons

Summertime screams salad.  Gardens overflow with beautiful produce, and if your garden stops giving (because you got lazy about watering it like we did), farmers’ markets are bountiful.  Hot sticky weather makes cold food taste better than it does in the dead of winter.  And perhaps most importantly, most salads are quick and easy.  In the spirit of summer, here are three salads that keep my belly full and palate satisfied.  They’re listed in order of ease/speed (the latter two take a bit of work, but are worth it).

Tina’s Kale Salad (from a friend)

• Chopped kale
• Slivered red onion
• Sesame seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• 2 Hard boiled eggs (sliced)

Toss ingredients in dressing made with equal parts olive oil, lemon juice, Bragg Amino Acid + salt + pepper.  As the kale softens, this salad gets even yummier, so make enough to save leftovers for lunch the next day!

Tuna Nicoise (basic recipe)

• Seared ahi tuna
• Steamed green beans
• Boiled fingerling potatoes
• Marinated olives
• Tomatoes
• Hard boiled egg (1 per person, sliced)

Serve ingredients over a bed of bibb, romaine, or whatever kind of lettuce you have in the house.  Drizzle with basic vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic, mustard, shallot, salt, pepper) or green goddess dressing and…gobble!

Avocado and Watercress Salad (from Gourmet, via Epicurious)

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1 tablespoon grated sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla (use large holes of a box grater)
• 1/4 cup finely grated peeled Gala apple (use small holes of box grater)
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 cups watercress (thin stems and leaves only; from 1 large bunch)
• 1 firm-ripe avocado

Stir together vinegar, onion, apple, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar has dissolved, then stir in oil.  Just before serving, toss watercress with enough dressing to coat. Quarter, pit, and peel avocado, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Gently toss with watercress.  This salad takes a bit of work, but it’s SO VERY WORTH IT.  It’s beyond craveworthy…year-round, actually.

And if you’re into grain salads, I posted one of my favorites — a farro salad recipe — last month.  Do you have a favorite summer salad recipe to share?  Please do!