Quick & Easy Salad

Sometimes I'm honestly at a loss when trying to figure out what to serve to accompany my main courses.  I tire easily of the potato, rice, couscous thing and am always looking for a way to get some more veggies into all of us.  We eat really well but there are times (like last night) when we get home late and everyone is famished and I have no time to prepare anything.  This is super quick and uses up some fridge and pantry staples.  Feel free to substitute your favourite vegetables or whatever you may have lying around!  I tend to eyeball the dressing and go  with the less is more attitude for this salad,  especially when using ripe tomatoes.  

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Quick & Easy Salad

1/2 cucumber, quartered & sliced

1/2 red onion finely diced

1/2 red pepper diced

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup chick peas, drained & rinsed

handful of fresh arugula leaves

scattering of feta cheese

combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss.  drizzle with olive oil (roughly 1/4 cup), red wine vinegar (2 tblsp) and salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

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Chickpea & Carrot Salad

I thought I'd post one of my favourite light lunches for you today.  This is dead simple to make, tastes incredible and is packed with goodness!  

Chickpea & Carrot Salad (adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)
1 can (19oz) chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cup loosely packed shredded carrot (about 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
3 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. ground corriander
6 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Put 1/2 cup of the chickpeas in a mixing bowl and mash them into a coarse paste with a potato masher.  Add in the remaining chickpeas, carrots, parsley and scallions.  Stir to combine.
In another bowl whisk the lemon juice, corriander, 1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper together.  Continue whisking while you slowly add the olive oil.  Pour dressing over the salad and season to taste with salt and pepper.  
Serve as it is with toasted pita bread or over mixed greens if you like.  I also love it served inside of a pita!  A little portable salad.  Perfect!

Build A Salad

Here's the first of a couple of super easy recipes I have for you this week.  
I first made this salad a couple of weeks ago for a get-together and it was a big hit!  I've made it a couple of times since and absolutley love it!
Salad with Fresh Herbs (serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main)
The Ingredients:

Boston Lettuce

Chives

Mint

Parsley

Bacon and Avocado

1 Head of Boston Lettuce

3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves 

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

1 large avocado, diced

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled

1/4 cup sliced chives

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup goat cheese

one handful of halved grape tomatoes

5-6 Tblsp of your favourite vinaigrette dressing (I used this one)

Combine the lettuce, parsley and mint in a large bowl. Toss with just enough of the vinaigrette to coat lightly.  Season with a little salt and pepper and toss again. 

Peel, pit and dice the avocado and toss the chunks in a separate bowl with a 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette.  Add the cheese, pine nuts and tomatoes to the avocado and season with salt and pepper.  Toss all of these ingredients with the Boston Lettuce.  You may want to add a bit more of the dressing at this point but it doesn't require much.  Sprinkle with the bacon and chives and serve.

You could also toss in some cooked chicken breast to make this into a main course! Fantastic.

Family Recipes - Orzo Salad

This is the perfect go-to recipe for just about everything.  It works as a side dish, quick lunch, a pot luck dinner or even a main dish with some added protein; chicken or salmon anyone?  Everybody loves it and it is really easy to make (do you see a pattern here?).  
This recipe yeilds enough for 6 plus leftovers!  Oh, feel free to omit or add things to make it your own...this is truly  an adaptable dish:

Orzo Salad
1 Quart chicken broth (4 cups)
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 can chick peas (drained and rinsed)
a handful of grape tomatoes halved (or use what you have)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves 

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tsp. honey

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice and honey in a bowl and slowly add in the olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan; add the orzo and cook for 7 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a wide-rimmed bowl to allow it to cool completely.  Toss the orzo with the chick peas, onion, fresh herbs and about 3/4 of a cup of the vinaigrette.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature or cold.  

Enjoy!