Mediterranean Summer Salad

Anytime I write a salad post, I feel kind of silly. I don’t think salads really require much of an official recipe. Rather, salads are more about tossing together a bunch of fresh ingredients (whatever you have on hand and/or maybe even in your garden), drizzling them with some lemon juice and olive oil, sprinkling with salt and pepper and calling it a day. Salads should never be difficult, fussy or over-complicated. They should, however, be things such as fresh, bright, crunchy, delicious, creamy, textured, flavorful, vibrant and nourishing.

This Mediterranean summer salad is just that. It’s got the bright and vibrant fresh produce, crunchy, textured toppings and it’s most definitely bursting with nourishing flavors. Somewhere at the beginning of quarantine, we started making this salad based on things we had on hand. And we liked the flavor combination so much that we kind of just kept making it…again…and again…and again. And now here we are, three months later, with a non-recipe recipe for what has become our go-to summer salad. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

POST DETAILS

HAT // LACK OF COLOR {similar option}

DRESS // HILL HOUSE

SHOES // TKEES C/O

LINEN TABLECLOTH // H&M

VINTAGE SILVERWARE // THRIFTED

SMALL VINTAGE WOODEN BOARD // ETSY

LARGE VINTAGE WOODEN BOARD // ELSIE GREEN

SANDSTONE MIXING BOWL // FLOTSAM+FORK C/O

VINTAGE WOODEN BOWL // THRIFTED

SMALL CERAMIC BOWL, SALAD SERVING SPOONS + WOODEN PLATE // GOODIES

SALAD BOWL, TOWEL + PEPPER MILL // AMAZON

MINI WOODEN PINCH BOWL // TARGET

KNIFE // MATERIAL C/O

MINI WHITE BOWL // WORLD MARKET

INGREDIENTS

• Romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale or a mix of your choosing

• Corn (either fresh or frozen)

• Olives (I like a mix of black and green, I usually use either Pearls or Trader Joe’s)

• Marinated artichoke hearts

• Sun-dried tomatoes (fresh tomatoes are also great)

• Goat or feta cheese crumbles (you can also use parm, but I like the creaminess that goat or feta add to the salad; you can obviously also omit this to make this salad vegan)

• Calabrian chilis or diced fresh chilis of your choice (we like to use the Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce}

• Fresh-squeezed lemon juice

• Olive oil (California Olive Ranch is the go-to)

• Fresh herbs (basil and dill are my personal favorites)

• Sea salt flakes

• Fresh ground black pepper

• Optional grains- quinoa, couscous

• Optional additional veggies- sliced cucumber, zoodles

• Optional protein- grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, garbanzo beans (for a vegan option)

INSTRUCTIONS

Roughly chop the lettuce. Toss with the corn, olives, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and top with Calabrian chilis. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Finish with a sprinkling of fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

A note on measurements //

I never really measure anything for this salad. Once a week, we stock up on a few cans of olives, artichoke hearts, a log of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and whatever else we need for these salads. Then we really just eyeball the measurements to make the ingredients last for about a week of salads. Some days we do more of one thing and less of another, sometimes we throw something in from the garden or something that we need to use up.

For two salads, here’s a rough estimate of what we do //

Fill bowls with lettuce. Split 1 ear of corn, or about 3/4 cup frozen kernels, sautéed for a few minutes, between the bowls. Top with a handful of olives, 2-3 artichoke hearts, a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, about 2-3 tablespoons cheese, a small spoonful of Calabrian chili sauce (totally dependent on personal preference), juice of half a lemon per salad, and then just eyeball the remainder of the ingredients, mostly dependent on personal taste preference.