These, my friends, are salad days. In honor of this hot and sweaty time, we're bringing you a couple of weeks of inspired salad recipes that involve little to no cooking time. Keeping it cool, refreshing, and nutritious is what it's all about!
This time around, a chopped salad with a creamy dressing is where it's at. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you. Most of those are for a dressing that can be made by shaking a bunch of stuff together in a jar and, while I love this dressing, you could also choose your favorite Caesar dressing pretty easily and substitute some of that if you're in a rush. You can mix and match ingredients, but be sure to choose both bright green and bright red items to keep a colorful salad feel.
This salad is excellent alongside grilled or steamed fish, tuna sandwiches, or sautéed chicken. It makes for an excellent lunch or light dinner and might just be perfect for this time of the year. Stay cool, my friends!
Creamy Summer Salad
- 8 oz. asparagus, trimmed to 1" pieces
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4-6 baby turnips, trimmed and sliced into half rounds
- 6 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1-2 handfuls fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Steam the asparagus using your preferred method. Once steamed, place into a bowl with the frozen peas and add very cold water to stop the cooking process and retain the bright green color of the vegetables. Drain, place into a large serving bowl, and set aside.
Combine the next 13 ingredients (white wine vinegar through salt & pepper) in a resealable jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside.
Prepare the remaining vegetables (turnips through cilantro) and add them to the asparagus and peas in the serving bowl. Pour the dressing into the bowl and toss well to coat. Chill if not serving immediately.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes