This EASY SUMMER SALAD gets bonus points for being terrifically tasty too!
For a while there, the title of this recipe was a toss-up (pun intended) between “the accidental salad” or “the weekend leftovers salad”. Yup, it came together from a chance gathering of cottage weekend leftovers. Though both sounded compelling, I needed to zero in on the most important attribute; it is such an EASY SUMMER SALAD to make. And just one bite in, you’ll say the same as everyone else who has tried it – “Delicious with a capital D!”
Before I go through some of the key elements to making it, a friendly reminder that we have lots of salads worthy of your attention. For a comprehensive list, check out our SALAD COLLECTION. You’ll find everything from simple side salads, pasta salads and side dishes to more substantial freshly prepared salad recipes that can be served as a meal. My favourites? Our famous CHICKEN WALDORF, or this BEET SALAD with goat cheese. Everyone loves this POTATO SALAD and a PRETTY PLUM SALAD. My favourite salads that you can serve as meals include this GRILLED STEAK SALAD, our classic COBB SALAD. Lastly, this vegetarian main, a MEDITERRANEAN SALAD bursting with romaine, chickpeas, English cucumbers and garlic. Enjoy one, enjoy ‘em all!
Now, let’s get you all the deets on this EASY SUMMER SALAD:
INGREDIENTS
Nothing to see here except a gathering of six readily available salad ingredients plus four additional ones to craft the dressing. Seriously, ten ingredients total for a salad and a dressing? Told you this was going to be easy. We’re confident you’ll have no trouble tracking down the full ingredient list below.
About the tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, lemon and fresh herbs: if possible, try to source organic, locally grown options whenever possible. We find organic veggies, fruit and herbs simply taste better. Regarding the quinoa, black olives and olive oil, we picked them up from a deli / general grocer at a favourite market.
FRESH VEGGIES
Why did we go with the juicy cherry tomatoes, green onions and mini cucumbers? That’s all thanks to my friend Heather Lynn. She was heading home after a Weekend at the Cottage, and while packing up her cooler, she said, “I’m leaving these tasty bits here for you to enjoy”. The next day I was shooting these wonderful KOFTA KEBABS and needed a colourful side salad for the beauty shot. These veggies were just the thing. In retrospect, this salad is kind of a mix between a TABOULI sans the Middle Eastern spice profile and a GREEK SALAD sans the red onion, feta cheese and red wine vinegar.
QUINOA AND BLACK OLIVES
Adding the cooked quinoa and halved, pitted black olives was one of those “more is more” moments with pleasing results. For the quinoa, measure ¾ of a cup dry. Add it to 1½ cups of boiling water, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all of the water disappears. Then remove off the heat, letting it sit for five minutes covered before fluffing up the grains with a fork. Pro tip: You can cook the quinoa well in advance of assembling the salad or even add it warm into the mix. Don’t forget that quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse. It provides complete plant protein, dietary fibre, and essential minerals like magnesium and iron. About those black olives; I just love them. The buttery, gentle flavour plays well with the other ingredients, but FYI, green olives will work too.
FRESH HERBS
A few years back I was asked by a food publication to predict coming food trends. My answer: fresh herbs in everything. Well, guess what, years later that prediction stands. Adding a generous quantity of freshly chopped herbs into this salad may very well be this EASY SUMMER SALAD game changer. Feel free to add a combination of your favourites. Try it with fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives, tarragon, fresh mint, basil, cilantro, dill and thyme. I sincerely maintain the fresh herbs give the salad its distinctive fresh flavour. There’s that word again… fresh!
LEMON VINAIGRETTE
Repeat visitors to WATC know I’ve never met a salad dressing I didn’t like. Favourites include this FRESH DRESSING or our classic ITALIAN DRESSING. Creamier options are this POPPY SEED DRESSING, a BUTTERMILK RANCH and a creamy THOUSAND ISLAND with a touch of mayonnaise. But for this simple salad idea, I dialled everything down and went with a punchy dressing that I’m now making on repeat.
To start, I selected extra virgin olive oil as the base, though walnut or avocado oil will work too. Next, instead of adding red wine vinegar or a big-flavoured balsamic vinegar, I added lemon juice, which adds a pleasing, brighter flavour and mild sourness. Note there is no honey, maple syrup, sugar or other sweetener added to this vinaigrette. Big flavour needs little more than the suggested quantities of kosher salt and black pepper.
SERVE
The final direction on this sensational salad recipe is to toss all of the salad ingredients together before adding the vinaigrette. After that, we toss again and serve. That’s it. Well, that’s almost it; how about a few suggestions on what to pair it with? Serve it on its own as a light lunch or grill up some of our EASY FLATBREADS. It also goes really well with our RIBEYE STEAKS, grilled RACK OF LAMB, this BBQ SALMON RECIPE, and our BBQ RIBS and CHICKEN WING recipes. Don’t be surprised when everyone scoops up a second helping. Oh, and another thing: you can make the salad and keep it covered in the fridge until you take it to that potluck, cookout, picnic, or BBQ. It’ll be your winning answer to “what can I bring?” So good!
Making and serving this EASY SUMMER SALAD is just that. Easy!
Until Labour Day
