One of my favourite things about eating a seasonal diet is that from late spring to early fall, you have so many options for fresh fruit and vegetables. Growing up, I was one of those kids that didn't like the food on her plate to touch, but as an adult, I'm a throw it all together and give it a toss with vinaigrette kind of person! This salad is just my style. It started by looking in my fridge, using what was fresh (or growing in my garden) and tying it together with a slightly heavier vinaigrette to match the changing end-of season vegetables.
I decided to grill the peaches & cream corn cobs, zucchini and patty pan squash. Grilling the vegetables adds a little bit of warmth and a slight smoky flavour to the salad, that reminds me of fall.
The base of the salad is kale. I used two kinds of curly kale from my garden, a green and a red variety. My kale was really dirty with gravel, so it needed to be washed three times to make sure it was clean. If your leaves are not as dirty, rinsing twice is enough. I usually follow this process (see below) for most of the leafy greens I grow and buy, to ensure they stay their best. It might seem like a lot of work up front, but trust me, you will thank yourself later when your leafy greens keep for longer and are crispy, fresh and ready to eat!
Enjoy,
Krista
How To Wash Leafy Greens To Ensure They Last And Stay Fresh
Step One: submerge the leaves in lukewarm water and give them a whirl-around. This will detach any loose gravel and dirt (or critters!) from the leaves.
Step Two (optional): repeat the first step to ensure all leaves are clean. It's amazing how much dirt and gravel gets stuck in the leaves and the core and is released during this second rinse.
Step Three: use very cold water to rinse leaves. This step allows the leaves, which have opened up and relaxed to let go of the dirt, crisp back up.
Step Four: place leaves into a salad spinner or a tea towel and spin to release the extra liquid.
Step Five: after the excess water is gone, lay the leaves on a dry towel to finish air drying, if I'm using them right away, or wrap the leaves in absorbing paper, place them into a breathable bag and put into the crisper drawer.
Your leafy greens will be fresh, crispy and last for up to 5-10 days, depending on the variety!
Late Summer Salad With Shallot Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Salad:
2 cobs corn
4 patty pan squash, quartered
1 medium-sized zucchini, cut into chunks
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
10-12 cups kale, stems and ribs removed, then torn into bite-size pieces
2 avocados, halved and then sliced
1 cup cherries, cut into half
1 cup micro greens (I used a trio of pea shoots, watercress & radish shoots from the Vancouver Farmer's Market)
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/3 cup pecans, toasted & chopped into chunks (pepitas would work nicely here as well)
For the Vinaigrette: (this will make more than you need, use as much as desired on salad):
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Pre-heat an outdoor grill to 400 degrees.
Place corn cobs, zucchini and squash in a medium-sized bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on heated grill. Turn corn every 2 minutes, cooking all four sided. Zucchini and squash will need to be turned every 30 seconds and will cook much faster. Take corn, zucchini and squash off the grill when done and let cool on a baking sheet. Once cool enough to touch, run a sharp knife along the corn cob to release the kernels.
In a small bowl add the shallot, dijon mustard, salt and pepper and white wine vinegar. Slowly drizzle olive oil over top of bowl, whisking to emulsify or combine the vinaigrette.
On a large serving platter, add kale, grilled corn kernels, zucchini and squash. Top with avocado slices, cherries, micro greens, feta and pecans.
Right before serving, add desired amount of vinaigrette and toss to lightly coat.
Recipe Notes:
If you find that kale is too tough or chewy of a green for you, you can easily substitute it with a different hearty lettuce. Or, you could gently massage 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the kale pieces, prior to placing them on a serving platter to soften the leafy pieces.
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