Easy Summer Salad

Easy Summer Salad.jpg

Serves 2

Dig into a crisp, cool salad for a perfect summer meal.  Simply roast all the veggies together and remove each from oven as they’re ready.  Add cooked lentils, peas and chickpeas, toss with tahini dressing and enjoy!  Simple, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups mixed field greens

  • 4 cups arugula

  • 1 cucumber sliced

  • 2 cups roasted butternut squash

  • 2 cups roasted broccoli

  • 1 cup roasted mushrooms

  • 2 cups frozen peas

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa

  • 1 cup cooked lentils

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 cup crunchy roasted chickpeas

  • 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 tsp. garlic powder

  • olive oil

Tahini Dressing

  • 1/3 cup tahini (ground sesame seeds)

  • 1 medium lemon, juiced

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 tsp. sea salt

  • ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

  • ½ cup cold/iced water

Preparation:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chickpeas:

  • Spread drained and rinsed chickpeas on a baking sheet in a single layer and dry them really well with a towel. The drier they are, the better and crunchier they will turn out.  The key is to make sure they go into the oven without any water left on them. 

  • Drizzle or spray with Olive Oil, sprinkle with ½ -1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. garlic powder and freshly ground pepper.  

  • Bake for about 45 minutes, shaking the pan every 15 minutes or so to make sure they don’t burn.

  • They should be golden brown and crunch on the inside when they’re done.

Quinoa:

  • Rinse and drain the Quinoa.  Add rinsed Quinoa, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. Garlic Powder and vegetable broth to a small saucepan and bring to boil over high heat.  Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes, until liquid is dissolved.  Let sit for a few minutes, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Lentils:

  • In a medium saucepan add lentils, bay leaf and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 20 min. Drain lentils and discard bay leaf.

Veggies:

  • Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees. Coat broccoli, squash, and mushrooms with oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for about 20-30 minutes, checking and turning veggies on baking sheet until desired amount of browning. Remove veggies from oven as they’re ready.

Peas:

  • Bring a small pot of water and ¼ cup salt to boil. Add peas and cook for 1 min. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and let sit about 1 minute until cold. Drain and set aside.

To prepare tahini dressing:

  • In a bowl combine the garlic and lemon juice.  Let mixture rest for at least 10 minutes, to give the garlic time to infuse the lemon juice with flavor.

  • Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl, pressing the garlic with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.  Discard the garlic.

  • Add the tahini, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar to the bowl.  Whisk until thoroughly blended.

  • Add water 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth.  By 6-8 tablespoons dressing should be perfectly creamy and smooth.

  • To assemble salad put everything into a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

  • Enjoy!