Summertime is made for Salads....

Jul 13

Jul 13 Summertime is made for Salads....

When it’s really hot out there I don’t have an appetite for huge, heavy meals. I often grab whatever vegetables and greens look good in the market and accompany them with some fish or chicken. Last night I found myself perusing the shelves of my ‘fridge and looking at what I’d bought at the local Farmer’s Market. I’d also bought a piece of (organic of course!) salmon. As my garden has exploded in the past week I have more basil than I know what to do with. Grabbing all my greens, I composed a salad of arugula, baby watercress, radicchio and tore up some fresh basil. I decided the easiest way to make the salmon was my tried and true chili rub so I got that going and then saw that I had an unopened feta cheese as well as a lot of zucchini and peaches. I turned on my grill and cut the zucchini into long quarters and halved and pitted a few peaches. Fresh grilled peaches in the summer are pretty awesome! I drizzled my good Virgin Olive Oil - a gift from my kids actually for Mother’s Day - Miraval Olive Oil (same as the Rose wine), squeezed a lemon on top and seasoned with salt & pepper. Yum!

It all took maybe a half hour and voila! A feast fit for a king (or queen?)! Easy prep, easy cleanup, leaving me more time to binge watch my latest Netflix favorite show, “Call my Agent”. (LOVE!!! Highly recommend - it’s like watching CAA in action in French).

Basic idea, though, is to use what’s fresh and readily available with a bit of protein, cheese, acid and greens. Keep the dressing simple.

Enjoy!

Ingredients - I’m leaving the quantities roughly up to you. It depends how many people you are serving as well as if you’re more of a person who likes salad greens or if you like the proteins to dominate

Arugula, Baby Watercress, Radicchio (or some combination of lettuces - endive, frisee, mecuslin - whatever looks good to you!)

Basil - about a handful per person - tear the leaves - if you prefer you can chop or make a chiffonade. It might also be nice to make a simple pesto to use as a dressing.

1 oz Feta per person

3 - 6 oz Salmon per person (use Chili Rubbed Salmon recipe)

1 Lemon for salad dressing

1 Tablespoon (drizzle on salad - again, measurement is a rough estimation)

Salt & Pepper

Peaches - if they are small, use 1 per person.

Zucchini - I always make much more than I’ll need. I use the leftovers the next day for another salad or side.

Directions

Preheat your grill or BBQ - I always heat up my grill, then scrape / clean it and then spray it with a cooking spray, usually PAM.

Prepare your salmon for grilling.

Cut the zucchini into quarter spears - drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Cut the peaches into halves, lightly brush with olive oil.

I find the zucchini takes much longer than the salmon so I start with that on the grill. I like to cook my zucchini on each side (you’ll have triangular shaped spears so it’s three-sided) and you need to turn them after 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is and how cooked you like your vegetables.

When you start taking the zucchini off, put your salmon on the grill, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes and check. I like to slide the fish off it’s skin at that point and flip it over so it’s cooked on both sides. Some like to just let it cook through. Chef’s choice! If you do flip it watch the cooking. Depending on thickness, heat and how you like your fish, it should take 3 - 8 minutes for most filets.

If you have room, put your peaches on the grill when you flip your salmon. Peaches only take 3-5 minutes but you do want to cook both sides.

When everything is cooked, prepare your salad. I like using a large, shallow bowl. I line it with all the greens. Then I cut up the grilled peaches and put on top. Chop the feta into bite sized pieces and toss on top as well. Then I put the salmon and the zucchini on the side of the dish.

Drizzle the salad with Virgin Olive Oil. Squeeze your lemon on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and taste. Adjust seasoning.

Voila!