Delicious and Fresh!

I absolutely love making salads in the summer when you can pull fresh vegetables right out of your garden (see my gardening post), or pick some up at your local Farmers Market. (Check out my post on what is worth buying there!)

These are my go-to salads in the summer because they use farm-fresh ingredients combined with some luscious dressings and unique flavor combinations. They are so tasty that I forget how good they are for me, and they honestly just take a few minutes to throw together. Try them on their own as main courses (add proteins); or serve as appetizers or accompaniments to bigger, full course meals or dinner parties!

1. Strawberry Chicken Poppyseed. We love this salad in early summer when there’s a 2-3 week window of local strawberry picking. The taste of fresh strawberries compared to store-bought cannot be compared, there is THAT much of a difference. For this recipe, I make each serving separately in order to gauge the right amount of ingredients in each bowl.

How to Make It

• Fill a bowl, whatever size you like, with romaine lettuce
• Add the desired amount of fresh sliced strawberries
• Add some fresh blueberries, and a snack pack of Mandarin oranges
• Toss in some poppyseed dressing (Skinny Girl makes a zero sugar/no fat variety that is delicious.)
• Add some grilled or baked chopped chicken tenders (See my post on how to make them perfectly every time.)
• Top your salad with chopped pecans or walnuts

Ceviche. I consider this a salad since it has so many fresh veggies. But in restaurants you often see it served as an appetizer with some plantain or vegetable chips. However you serve it, it is delicious.

How to Make It

• Add the desired amount of chopped, raw fish, scallops or shrimp to a small bowl. (If using shrimp be sure to properly clean them.) A meatier fish like mahi and swordfish are perfect
• Cover the seafood with the juice of 3-4 limes
• Leave covered in the fridge for at least three hours
• After this time, drain the lime juice
• Add to the bowl of seafood:
  • Chopped cherry tomatoes
  • Chopped cucumbers
  • Chopped red pepper
  • Sliced red onion
  • Lots of cilantro to taste

Caprese. This is about the easiest salad since it uses literally three ingredients- tomato, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Check out my post on using fresh herbs! This recipe uses basil straight out of my garden and of course Farmers Market tomatoes. So it is SUPER fresh.

Just layer the tomato, cheese and basil, like so.

Top with just a touch of salt and pepper.

I serve this with a nice drizzle of balsamic vinegar. This is a great starter for an Italian Dinner Party. (See an upcoming post on this!)

Burrata. Very similar to the caprese above, this dish really just replaces mozzarella with a beautiful piece of burrata. This cheese is gaining in popularity, and I’m thrilled to see it, because it can be served with so many toppings that are delicious. Burrata has a liquid center, so I make this the centerpiece of this salad. Just add chopped cherry or grape tomatoes and chopped basil.

I have eaten this for breakfast with a poached egg and piece of Farmer’s Market jalapeño bread. OMG. A drizzle of balsamic is perfect for this salad as well.

Greek. For my recent post on hosting a Greek Dinner Party (check it out here), I included a beautiful Greek salad on my menu. As I mentioned in the post, I make this a self-serve dish so people can add the toppings as they wish, but you can obviously also serve it as a complete dish to pass around.

The fixings for this salad include:

• Chopped Romaine
• Chopped cucumbers
• Chopped cherry tomatoes
• Sliced red onion
• Kalamata olives
• Fresh parsley
• Feta cheese
• Greek dressing

Shepherd’s Salad. Another lovely Greek salad with similar ingredients to the traditional Greek salad above but with no lettuce and an incredible dressing.

How to Make It

Chop the following into bite-sized pieces and add to a bowl:

• 2 Cucumbers
• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives (I use them whole)
• 1 bunch parsley

To make the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk this well, then pour over the vegetables and mix together. 

This salad can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, and honestly the longer it marinates, the better the flavor. When ready to serve, just top with feta cheese.

Caesar. Everyone knows this classic salad, and the reason I like it is because I make my own caesar dressing and croutons! We have had this served table side at a local restaurant before, and it was honestly the best I’ve ever had. Making the dressing yourself matters a lot.

My homemade dressing:

• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper

Whisk these together well, then add in:

• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/2 half cup parmesan cheese

The dressing is mixed into a bowl of crunchy romaine lettuce. Coat all the lettuce well. Add a bit more parmesan and some croutons.

Try making your own croutons if you are interested!

Simply cut a loaf of Italian bread or French baguette into crouton-sized pieces, spray generously with cooking spray, and bake at 300 degrees for about eight minutes. You can toss in some salt and pepper and whatever other spices you might like. I love these with garlic and onion powder and a touch of cayenne.

If you are making your own dressing AND croutons, this salad will be far and above your average caesar salad!

Watermelon and Feta. I made this salad the other night; it was just so bloody hot outside and I had a craving for this refreshing salad. The best I ever had was in La Jolla, California, when my daughter and I visited there for her sixteenth birthday trip. (See my post about this trip!) I’ve not come close to recreating that, but it’s okay- this version is still amazing.

How to Make It

• Add 2 cups chopped, bite-sized watermelon to a bowl
• Add 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 avocado

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey

Pour over watermelon mixture and stir well. Add feta cheese and some chopped nuts like pistachios on top.

Sunomono (Asian Cucumber and Crab Salad). I only learned about this salad very recently when I saw it on a Japanese restaurant menu and was intrigued. I like cucumber and crab, so thought I couldn’t go too wrong. I cannot say enough about the beautiful Asian flavors in this- I wish I would have known about it for my Asian Dinner Party not long ago.

How to Make It

• Add 3-4 thinly sliced or julienned Kirby cucumbers (firmer and easier to cut) to a bowl
• Sprinkle cucumbers with 2 tablespoons of table salt and let sit about ten minutes
• Press the cucumbers to squeeze out moisture
• Add to the cucumbers the same amount of pieces of crab (or imitation crab) cut in same size as the cucumbers

For the Dressing:

• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
• Salt and pepper

Mix the dressing well, and pour over cucumbers and crab. Stir and serve with sesame seeds on top.

Corn and Bean Salad. Last but not least, this is a fantastic summer salad I make a lot because I cook a good amount of Mexican food. This is hands-down the perfect side dish to anything Mexican- especially tacos and fajitas; or some fresh seafood like this beautiful shrimp.

How to Make It

Mix together:

• 2 cans of whole kernel corn (or use fresh! Grill it for a beautiful smoky flavor, too.)
• 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped grape tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped avocado
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt, pepper and cumin to taste

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Mix the dressing ingredients well with a whisk. Pour over the vegetables and let sit in the fridge for at least two hours (longer is better!)

Let me know if you try any of these delicious summer salads, or you have any others to share! Enjoy eating fresh and healthy salads this summer!