Fresh from the Garden Salad

3.1K

Summertime is our favorite salad time — because who feels like turning on the stove in the heat? Summer’s bounty offers greens aplenty, herbs of all kinds and beautiful flowers, so this colorful fresh from the garden salad is a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.

For the greens in this salad: mix ’em up! Contrasting sizes, colors, textures and flavors of the greens will make the salad special. If you’re going for big bunches of greens: red and green oakleaf, butterleaf, frisee and radicchio are fantastic to mix. If you like the convenience of bagged salads, choose from herb salad mix, arugula, baby spinach and baby kale. Farmer’s markets often have many types, and they’ll let you “mix and match.”

With  gardens in full bloom, herbs are plentiful. A salad is a great way to taste and experiment with different herbs…you can sammple and see what you love and what you don’t. Try dill, mint, green and purple basil, fennel fronds, tarragon, spring onion and chive. Stay away from strong or woody herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano.

And how could we have a fresh from the garden salad without blossoms? So many blooms are edible, like pansy, daisy, rose. For a salad, it’s lovely to have the “peppery” flavored blooms — we use nasturtium and borage.Cucumber and avodado add interest, creaminess and crunch.

When a salad packs this much punch, both visually and with flavor, make a salad dressing that won’t compete but rather enhance and celebrate the greens. The Hipcooks salad dressing is easy, delicious and perfect for this application.

Are you lovin’ our Summer Salad posts? Check our salads galore and learn amazing knife skills in our Endless Salads class at Hipcooks. It’s offered only the summer, so get it while it’s hot!