Here’s the world’s easiest (and most satisfying) summer salad for when you’re short on time but need something to go with that barbecue or potluck. Use top-quality produce here for a salad that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Ingredients:
2 large heirloom tomatoes, washed and cored
1 large avocado, halved, pit removed, and peeled
3 Persian cucumbers
1/2 small red onion
1 garlic clove, grated
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Quarter the heirloom tomatoes and cut them into thin slices, then place in a large bowl. Thinly slice avocado halves and gently add to the bowl. Thinly slice cucmbers and red onion and add to the salad bowl.
Top vegetables with grated garlic, vinegar, parsley, and olive oil, then gently toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
I’m not a huge sandwich person, and I rarely seek them out, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this flavor bomb of a sandwich I made recently. Garlicy pesto, meaty mushrooms, tangy sourdough, vinegary peppers, creamy mozzarella — this sandwich has it all.
Maybe I’m a sandwich person after all.
Ingredients:
2 to 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
1 pound portobello mushrooms
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons avocado oil
Salt
1 12-inch wide sourdough baguette or boule, halved lengthwise, toasted
1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced pickled cherry peppers
1/4 cup basil leaves
Place pesto in a large bowl. Remove stems and gills from portobello mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium heavy skillet over medium-high. Arrange half of mushrooms in a single layer in skilled and cook until they start to sizzle, then wrap the bottom of a second heavy skillet that is small enough to nestle into the first with foil and use it to press down on mushrooms evenly. Cook, pressing down, until mushrooms shrink and are deeply browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Remove top skillet; season mushrooms with salt. Turn mushrooms over, add 1 teaspoon oil to pan, and re-cover with foil-lined skillet. Cook, pressing, until second sides of mushrooms are well-browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with pesto. Repeat process with remaining mushrooms and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil. Toss mushrooms in pesto to coat.
Rub cut sides of baguette with garlic. Arrange mushrooms on bottom half of bread, then layer mozzarella on top. Top with cherry peppers and basil. Close and cut in quarters to make 4 sandwiches.
I am the most basic millennial in that I will never, ever tire of avocado toast. Avocado toast with an egg? Check. Avocado toast with chili crisp? Yes. Loaded avocado toast? Always. This version uses sourdough bread topped with radishes, pepitas, and queso fresco, for a Cali-Mex-inspired version of our beloved avocado toast. This makes one toast, so double or triple your quantities depending on how many you’re making.
Ingredients:
1 slice sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 avocado
1/2 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sunflower microgreens or similar sprouts
1 radish, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon crumbled queso fresco
Toast the bread until lightly golden brown. Cut the garlic clove in half and rub it all over the toast.
In a bowl, mash the avocado with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Spread the mashed avocado onto the toast. Top with the microgreens, radish, pumpkin seeds, and queso fresco.
If you’ve know me at all then you know okra is my favorite vegetable, and this blog is a no-okra-slander zone. This easy summer skillet pairs okra with corn and peppers for the ultimate summer side dish. Eat it with rice and chicken or even better, by itself. (I paired it with Iranian dolma here, because why not?)
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon avocado oil
2 slices turkey bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
10 okra, stemmed and sliced crosswise
4 ears corn, shucked, kernels sliced off (or one 10-ounce package frozen corn, about 2 cups)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Do not wipe out the pan.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet and add garlic, shallots, bell pepper, and jalapeno and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high, add okra and corn, and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in green onions, reserved turkey bacon, and remaining butter and season with salt and pepper.
This salad is so easy that it hardly qualifies as a recipe, but the combination of creamy hearts of palm and acidic dressing is a perfect pairing. To be honest, I could eat hearts of palm straight out of the can, but avocados make everything taste even better.
Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can hearts of palm, rinsed, drained, and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, diced
2 slightly firm avocados, peeled and diced
3 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar or lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a serving bowl. Add the hearts of palm, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro and gently mix until the vegetables are coated. Serve immediately.
