Any plan to eat outdoors calls for salads—fresh, colorful, tasty, and easy to throw together. This healthy summer salad has lots of munch, that comes from a medley of fresh corn, edamame, chickpeas, green onions, and red peppers mingled together in a tangy honey-lime vinaigrette.
You can count on this recipe being a sure fire hit at a backyard soiree or picnic in the park. And it travels well. In the unlikely event there are leftovers, serve at lunch with a sandwich. Recipe is adapted from Once Upon a Chef.
Garbanzo Edamame Salad
Ingredients: Serves 4
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 red bell pepper or 4 plum tomatoes, diced
- 2 ears cooked corn, kernels cut from cob
- 1 cup cooked edamame
- 3 green onions, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1-1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
Directions:
Combine salad items: chickpeas, red pepper, corn, edamame, and green onions in bowl. Combine vinaigrette items in jar and shake, adding oil slowly toward last. Pour over vegetables and toss to mix. Cover salad and refrigerate until ready to serve.
This next salad is a variation on the standard caprese salad and a way to use all those cherry tomatoes. The recipe is adapted from Burpee Home Gardens.
Easy Tomato Caprese Salads
Ingredients: Serves 4
- 1 pt. cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 lb. fresh 1″ Mozzarella balls
- 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves, about a dozen leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
- Cut the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half and place in a bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and mozzarella followed by some salt and pepper to taste. Wrap the basil leaves lengthwise into a tight roll and chiffonade, i.e., cut into thin strips. Sprinkle the chiffonade of basil over all. Spoon the mixture into salad bowls and serve immediately.
Kitchen Note: This salad depends on the finest and freshest ingredients. Use your best extra virgin olive oil, freshly picked tomatoes, coarse sea salt and fresh, ground black pepper. If you want to complicate this recipe, you can turn it into a Tomato Niçoise with the addition of black olives, capers, and chopped anchovy fillets.
