Salads Archives - Page 3 of 7 -

June 10, 2015

Roasted Tomatoes and Greens with Shallot Vinaigrette

June in Michigan is such a wonderful time of the year for cooking. There’s an abundance of fresh produce everywhere and the weather is still fairly moderate so I don’t mind being at the stove or turning on the oven. The cooler mornings and evenings keep me in the mood for baking and the warm sunny afternoons inspire a myriad of colorful salads. These days are perfect for roasting all of those early summer fruits and vegetables. Lately we’ve been enjoying our fair share of roasted cherry tomatoes in our pastas and salads. Like any roasted fruit, cherry tomatoes become intensely sweet and even more beautiful after being roasted. It may take a little bit of time to roast the tomatoes, but the extra effort is worth it in the end. This salad is a glorious combination of textures and flavors- soft and juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, crunchy pepitas, creamy crumbly feta, and chewy spelt grains. Adding whole grains to salads is a wonderful solution for making salads more substantial and filling. I’ve used spelt here, but any whole grain such as farro, quinoa, or barley will do. I brought this to a teacher’s appreciation luncheon at my daughter’s school a few weeks ago and it quickly disappeared!

Roasted Tomatoes and Greens with Shallot Vinaigrette

Serves: 6 side portions

Ingredients

Salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup spelt, soaked 4-6 hours, drained and rinsed
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves shredded
1 English cucumber, diced
⅓ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
¾ cup crumbled feta, plus extra for sprinkling on top

Dressing

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic white vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 shallots, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread tomatoes evenly on prepared baking sheet and roast for 25-28 minutes, until tomatoes are softened and slightly shriveled.
In a small saucepan, combine the spelt and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then simmer spelt until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a food processor, blend dressing ingredients until well combined and smooth.
Toss kale, cucumbers, pepitas, and spelt with half the dressing. Gently toss in feta, tomatoes, and additional dressing to taste. If needed, season with additional salt and pepper. Garnish with additional feta and pepitas.

May 26, 2015

Summer Italian Orzo Salad with Grilled Marinated Vegetables and Chicken

This post is sponsored by Colavita as part of their Summer Italian Grilling Series. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Right now Colavita is offering all readers of Gather & Dine a $1 coupon off any of their extra virgin olive oils or 15% off in their online store. Visit Colavita to learn more about their extensive product line.

It always feels so good to break out the grill after a long cold winter and this year I’m excited to be kicking off the season with this fresh salad incorporating an abundance of grilled vegetables and chicken. Something almost magical happens to the flavor of vegetables when they’re grilled. They take on a whole new character, and marinating them for just a short time deepens that flavor. Both the vegetables and chicken were marinated in a vinaigrette using Colavita’s Chardonnay White Wine Balsamic Vinegar and Colavita’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil.* The grilled chicken and vegetables are tossed with orzo along with zesty sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, fresh oregano, shaved parmesan, and finished with a drizzle of Colavita’s White Truffle Glace. It’s a bright and stunning summer salad worthy of celebration and with so many colors, textures, and flavors, there is variety with every bite. Bring it to picnics, summer gatherings, or just enjoy for a quiet evening at home with the family. Happy summer grilling!

*I’ve used Colavita products for years and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with them on this recipe. Colavita is a family owned Italian company that delivers high quality olive oils, vinegars, and pastas at affordable prices. I first learned about Colavita when I read a favorable review of their olive oil in “Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating.” I’ve been a loyal user ever since.

Summer Italian Orzo Salad with Grilled Marinated Vegetables and Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade

½ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ cup Colavita Chardonnay White Wine Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Dressing

4 tablespoons Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Colavita White Truffle Balsamic Glace
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad and Assembly

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
2 small zucchini, about 5 ounces each, quartered lengthwise into spears
1 small red onion, cut into ¼ inch circles, rings kept together
3 chicken breasts, about 1½ pounds total
½ cup Colavita sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
8 ounces Colavita orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
4-6 cups arugula
½ cup shaved parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling on top
extra Colavita White Truffle Balsamic Glace for drizzling, if desired

Instructions

Marinade

In a small bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients together until well combined.
Place chicken in one sealable bag and the vegetables in another. Pour ⅓ of the marinade over the chicken. Seal bag and evenly distribute marinade around chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
Pour the remaining marinade over the vegetables. Seal bag and gently tilt and flip the bag to distribute marinade, being careful not to separate the onion rings. Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Salad and Assembly

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken, 8-10 minutes total, flipping halfway. Grill onions and zucchini, 5-6 minutes total, also flipping halfway. Grill the asparagus 2-3 minutes, rotating after a minute or two.
Chop asparagus, zucchini, and onions into ½ inch pieces.
Allow chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes after removing from heat. Use two forks to shred chicken into bite size pieces.
While chicken is resting, whisk together the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chopped vegetables, shredded chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and shaved parmesan. Pour dressing over salad and use a wooden spoon to gently mix together. Add arugula and toss to incorporate. Serve immediately with extra parmesan and a drizzle of Colavita White Truffle Balsamic Glace, if desired.

Notes

To prepare ahead of time, assemble everything up until adding the dressing and arugula. Keep the dressing and arugula separate and toss together right before serving.

December 18, 2014

Kale Quinoa Salad with Pickled Onions, Raisins, and Pine Nuts

Kale salad time again because I love eating kale salads more than anything else in this world. Goodness, how times have changed. When I was in high school, I could proudly eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting because ice cream was my favorite thing to eat. Now, however, if someone were to present me with the choice between pints of ice cream, a platter of cookies, or a giant kale salad, I would in all honesty choose the kale salad. The rest of the family thinks I’m strange, but I like to just think of myself as healthy.

This Kale Quinoa Salad with Pickled Onions, Raisins, and Pine Nuts is inspired from a salad I had at Social Kitchen and Bar a couple years ago. (Yes, the salad was so good that I am still thinking about it two years later.) Since I don’t live close enough to frequently dine at the restaurant, I did my best to recreate the salad at home. Hello to my new favorite.

I listed general amounts of ingredients in the recipe below, but really there is so much liberty that can used when assembling salads. Increase the quinoa if you’d like a heartier grain salad or add some extra cheese for a stronger parmesan or romano flavor. The pickled onions add a lot to this salad though so don’t skip those. (Note that it’s important to find raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar for pickling the onions because pasteurized apple cider vinegar does not have the same health benefits.) This salad is a bit salty, a bit tart, and a bit sweet. With all of those holiday cookies around during this season, now is the perfect time balance it all out with this marvelous kale salad.

Kale Quinoa Salad with Pickled Onions, Raisins, and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

8-10 cups chopped kale, from 1 large bunch, tough stalks removed
⅓ cup raisins
⅓ cup pine nuts
½ cup cooked quinoa
½ cup romano or parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup pickled red onion (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Toast pine nuts in a single layer in a 350 oven for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully because the pine nuts burn easily.
In a large bowl, mix together the kale with the raisins, pine nuts, quinoa, cheese and pickled onion.
Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over salad, tossing until salad is evenly coated.

Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients

1 cup sliced red onion
½ cup water
½ cup cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the onions and turn off heat. Allow the onions to sit in the hot water for 1 minute. Drain and add onions to a small glass jar.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the water, cider vinegar, honey, and salt. Stir until salt and honey are dissolved. Pour mixture over the onions and sprinkle in the mustard seeds. Allow onions to sit in the vinegar solution for at least a few hours before serving. Keeps in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.

Notes

adapted from Bon Appetit