grilled romaine salad with dijon vinaigrette

Cut romaine hearts in half and place on a hot grill for a summertime twist on salad!

Lightly crisped and topped with garden ripe tomatoes, olives, salty cheese and a dijon vinaigrette creates a meal in itself!

Grilled Romaine Salad ~ A summertime twist on salad!

Romaine lettuce is thought of as one of the most nutrient dense varieties of lettuce around.  It is high in vitamin K, chlorophyll, vitamin A, vitamin C and folic acid.  Romaine lends a nice crunch to salads or can be added to soups and stews in place of other leafy greens.  Grilling it is my new favorite way to eat it!

Make sure lettuce is dry, placing freshly washed lettuce on the grill will result in a soggy mess!

Grilled Romaine Salad ~ A summertime twist on salad ~

grilled romaine salad
 
Print
Dijon Vinaigrette recipe from "Food and Wine" magazine
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 romaine hearts, washed and dried
  • ¼ cup parmesan or asiago cheese (optional)
  • ½ cup large black olives
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • For vinaigrette:
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Place romaine cut side down on a medium hot grill. Grill until lightly crisp and grill lines appear. Remove from heat.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients slowly adding olive oil.
  3. Assemble salads with olives, tomatoes and cheese.
  4. Drizzle with vinaigrette and enjoy!

For a vegan version, omit cheese and add with any toppings desired such as nutritional yeast, avocados or sunflower seeds!

Grilled Romaine Salad ~ A summertime twist on salad ~

 Get in those grilling days while they last!!!

avocado caprese salad with pesto vinaigrette

With fresh basil flourishing in the gardens and tomato season soon upon us, I thought this would be a fitting recipe to share!

Avocado Caprese Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette and Sweet Balsamic Reduction Sauce ~This salad screams summertime!

To top it all off, I added a drizzle of sweet balsamic reduction sauce…

Since I have SO much kale growing in the garden I served it on top of shredded Russian Kale however, you can serve on top of Romaine lettuce instead.   Of course, you can include fresh mozzarella for a vegetarian dish.

avocado caprese salad with pesto vinaigrette
 
Print
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • For the Pesto Vinaigrette:
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • For the Balsamic Reduction Sauce:
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • For the Avocado Caprese Salad:
  • 2 cups shredded greens (kale or romaine lettuce)
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 large tomato, sliced
  • pine nuts for garnish
Instructions
  1. To make Pesto Vinaigrette:
  2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy adding sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  3. To make the Balsamic Reduction Sauce:
  4. Place balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, let simmer until sauce is reduced by half (around 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
  5. To make Avocado Caprese Salad:
  6. Assemble sliced tomatoes and avocados on top of a bed of greens. Drizzle with pesto vinaigrette and balsamic reduction sauce. Garnish with pine nuts and enjoy!

This salad screams summertime!  

Avocado Caprese Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette and Sweet Balsamic Reduction Sauce ~This salad screams summertime!

The smell of fresh basil gets me every time!

It would make the perfect starter to a summer feast or could be served alone as a light and refreshing meal!

Avocado Caprese Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette and Sweet Balsamic Reduction Sauce ~This salad screams summertime!

vegan kale Caesar salad with garlic croutons

All hail to the Kale Caesar salad!

All hail to the Kale Caesar Salad ~vegan~

Yes, technically a caesar salad is a salad, but it can be a true diet disaster!

Some restaurant caesar salads weigh in with a calorie count similar to a whopper!  Globs of dressing, mounds of cheese and white bread croutons.

Here is a vegan spin on the traditional caesar salad.  Instead of raw eggs, cheese and anchovies, this dressing is made with tahini and nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast is a great vegan source of B vitamins and tahini is made from sesame seeds, which are loaded with calcium!  To boost the nutritional value even more, Red Russian kale is used in place of Romaine lettuce.

All hail to the Kale Caesar Salad ~vegan~

 Red Russian kale is more tender than the every day curly kale.  I highly recommend it, especially for salads!  Thanks to my friend Pilar, our garden is overflowing with kale this year…I’m a happy girl :)

All hail to the Kale Caesar Salad ~vegan~

vegan kale ceasar salad with garlic crutons
 
Print
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
  • For the dressing:
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon water (more if needed to thin out dressing)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • For the garlic croutons:
  • ½ whole wheat baguette, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • sea salt
  • For the salad:
  • 1 bunch of Red Russian kale, coarsely chopped
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, blend all ingredients together until creamy and set aside. (you can whisk together as well, using a food processor or blender is just quicker!)
  2. To make croutons: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add garlic. Sauté until fragrant, around 3-5 minutes. Place cubed bread in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garlic, add sea salt to taste, toss to coat and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Set aside to cool.
  3. Add dressing to chopped kale, toss to coat. Top with croutons and enjoy!

You can serve this caesar salad alone or as a side to any meal!  For added protein, top with crispy chickpeas!

All hail to the Kale Caesar Salad ~vegan~

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer solstice weekend :)