Meet my perfect simple summer salad.
You two should be friends.
This salad is certainly no culinary breakthrough, but when it comes to summer produce, sometimes simpler is better. And there is about to be a LOT of summer produce up in here, because this past week’s CSA box was packed to the brim:
I have more lettuce than I know what to do with, along with zucchini, beets, carrots, garlic, green garlic, spring onions, green beans, apricots, and the season’s first corn. Foooooood.
I think the boxes are only going to get more stuffed from here on out. Come August and September, I have no idea how we’re going to eat it all!
For now, I think I’ll try to stuff as much of it as possible into a salad.
And top it with a yummy red wine vinaigrette made with a fresh tomato!
I’ve had this SkinnyTaste skinny red wine tomato vinaigrette pinned ever since I opened a Pinterest account. I tried it out at long last, and it didn’t disappoint! I love blending up fresh dressings like this one to brighten up simple salads.
Is the crazy heat wave in the eastern part of the country finally over? I hope so, because on Friday I am flying out to Boston for a friend’s bachelorette party (hi Martha!) and then a week on the beach with my fam. I cannot WAIT! In the meantime, we have highs of 100 every day this week out here in Utah. That’s OK… I’m cranking up the AC and making nothing but this salad!
- 1 vine-ripened tomato, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp prepared mustard
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small head lettuce, torn and washed
- 4 cups trimmed green beans
- kernels from 1 ear of corn (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- First, make the dressing. Puree tomato in a food processor until liquefied. Add remaining dressing ingredients and blend again until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Next, we are going to quickly blanch the green beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath - a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water. Add green beans to boiling water and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until bright green. Drain and immediately plunge green beans into ice bath. Let sit for several minutes before draining the cold water and removing the ice cubes.
- Finally, layer salad ingredients in a serving dish or individual bowls. Serve with dressing and enjoy!
That salad looks delicious!! Definitely want to try that dressing as well.
This dressing sounds great! I have been wanting to start making my own salad dressings instead of buying bottled dressings. I think that this sounds simple and easy enough for me to tackle, too! ;)
haha! that is a loaded CSA box! Keep the salads coming. The dressing sounds awesome!
Gorgeous salad! Your CSA box was loaded with goodies and the dressing sounds perfect.
Have a fun time in Boston, hopefully it will be cooler there for you!
That salad looks so great – and the dressing – yum!
Salads like this are seriously all I’ve been eating for dinner lately, when it’s 90+ outside and 80 degrees inside my apartment! That vinaigrette sounds so interesting- I need to venture outside my balsamic vin comfort zone!
This does look like a perfect summer salad! I love your vinaigrette recipe too, I’ve never thought of putting tomatoes in mine before!
Thanks Yvonne! This was my first time trying it, too, and now I’m wondering which other fruits and veggies I can puree into a dressing :)
i want to drink that dressing
I may have sampled some with a spoon :)
Have tons of tomatoes and lettuce and searching for something different and I found your blog. I am making this for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!
.
So glad you found this, Sandra! Hope you enjoy!