You know it’s happened at your house: You get seduced by all the gorgeous summertime produce at the farmers market or grocery store, but you don’t manage to eat your way through it before it loses its early luster.
You’ll be tempted to toss it.
Don’t.
Your solution: An all-in dinner salad packed with vitamins and fiber and all-around summertime wholesomeness.
The bonus? It tastes good. Even people who think they don’t like vegetables will gobble it up, thanks to the additions of mustard, salty cheese and meaty chicken.
(Going totally veggie? Prepare this with tofu or tempeh instead, or just increase the vegetable amounts.)
Pop an inexpensive bottle of wine, and serve this with some torn bread. Follow with some sliced strawberries tossed with a spoonful of brown sugar.
All-In Grilled Dinner Salad
Use the ingredients here as a starting point. Just about any grillable vegetable you can think of works. If you’re in doubt about whether something is grillable, throw it on the grill. Recipe by Tucker Shaw. Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
Olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 bunch asparagus, washed and ends trimmed
1 red onion, in 1-inch thick rings
2 ears corn, cut into 3-inch lengths
1 medium zucchini, peeled if desired, then cut on the bias into 1/2-inch- thick pieces
1 medium eggplant, peeled if desired and cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
3 small tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 avocado, pitted and chopped into small cubes
Fresh herbs to taste (thyme, tarragon, sage, mint)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
A few olives, pitted and roughly chopped
A few capers, chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
Heat grill to medium-high. Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle mustard powder, paprika and salt over chicken. Set aside.
In large bowl, toss asparagus, onion, corn, zucchini and eggplant with olive oil. Place vegetables on grill and cook until they just begin to get soft but still have a bit of crunch, about 12-16 minutes. If you have a vegetable grill basket, chop your vegetables — except corn — into 1 1/2-inch chunks before cooking, and grill them all together, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, grill chicken until done, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to cutting board to rest 5 minutes.
Remove kernels from corn, chop vegetables and chicken into bite-sized pieces, and toss everything together with avocado, herbs, feta cheese, olives, capers, mustard and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
