Three Summer Salads

All three of us are fresh produce lovers - and nothing beats the farmer’s market in the summer! Amanda and I both belong to CSAs in the city, and we often also visit the Union Square Farmer’s Market to pick up whatever looks good. And we all love Pete’s Produce by our mom's house in West Chester! Two of the salads below are oven-free, which especially important in an NYC kitchen. The green bean salad requires the beans to be charred in the oven, but doesn’t involve too much watching - so you can plop yourself in front of the air conditioning with a glass of wine while you wait.

♥, Dana

Deconstructed Peach Halloumi Salad

This simple salad is perfect for summer. Stone fruit season is upon us and we are thrilled. I could literally eat this salad every day :) You could also try adding cherries! Halloumi cheese can be found in most grocery stores - sometimes called Grilling Cheese. If you cannot find it you can substitute room temp mozzarella or feta.

Servings: 2-4

Category: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Summer Salad

Prep+Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

- 2 large ripe peaches, pitted and cubed

- 5 oz halloumi cheese, sliced

- Drizzle of spicy honey (we like this brand!)

- Drizzle of olive oil

- Juice of 1/2 lemon

- Handful of almonds (or pecans)

- Handful of mint (or basil)

1. Chop peaches to bite-sized pieces.

2. Warm frying pan on medium heat.

3. Cut halloumi cheese into 1/4" wide slices.

4. Fry cheese (no oil needed!) - about 90 seconds per side until golden brown on both sides.

5. Remove cheese from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Squeeze lemon over cheese.

6. Arrange peaches on a plate, add cheese, nuts, drizzle of spicy honey and mint! Serve/eat immediately!

*Cool tip: I love to cut the mint (or any herb) with scissors!

*Cool tip: To find the perfectly ripe peach, look for a golden (not pale) yellow that is soft to the touch with slightly shriveled skin around the stem.

Roasted Green Beans and Scallions Salad

I got an excess amount of green beans in my CSA farm share and was so happy to find this recipe. I changed it a bit the second time I cooked it, adding shallots and more herbs. It's honestly so good I can't believe it!

Servings: 2-4

Category: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free

Prep+Cook Time: 35 Minutes

Pine Nut Dressing Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1 TBSP fish sauce

- 2 TBSP water

- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

- 1/2 garlic clove, smashed

- 1 tsp dried chili flakes

- 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Pour vinegar, fish sauce and water into a small bowl.

2. Put the pine nuts (toasted on frying pan or in oven for a few minutes, until golden brown), garlic, chili flakes and half of the liquid mixture in a food processor or magic bullet. Once fairly smooth, drizzle in olive oil and the rest of the vinegar mixture! This should result in a thick but pourable dressing - you can always add more water if needed.

Salad Ingredients:

- 1.5 lbs of string beans, trimmed ends and cut in half (this will look like a lot but they shrink a lot when roasted!)

- 3 bunches of scallions, trimmed ends and cut to match length of beans

- extra-virgin olive oil

- salt and pepper (freshly ground!)

- 1 shallot, thinly sliced

- 1/3 cup pine nut dressing

- 1/2 lemon (for juice)

- 1 cup mint leaves

- 1 cup basil leaves

- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F

2. Toss the beans and scallions with a glug of olive oil (or grapeseed oil), a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

3. Spread onto 2 baking sheets in a single layer - we love lining ours with silicone baking mats but they are not necessary!

4. Roast until nicely softened and browned/charred, 20-30 minutes.

5. While the beans and scallions are roasting, slice the shallot and squeeze lemon juice over it.

5. Pile the beans and scallions into a large bowl.

6. Pour the dressing into the bowl, coating the beans and scallions evenly. Add shallots with lemon juice. Taste and add more salt, pepper or chili flakes as needed.

7. Add mint, basil, and pine nuts. Serve/eat immediately!

*Adapted from Six Seasons by Joshua McFaden

*Cool tip: The dressing will keep up to a week in the fridge. It is also great over roasted veggies - my favorites are broccoli, corn, or carrots.

*Cool tip: Toast the pine nuts for each part of the recipe together to save time.

Green Melon Salad

Servings: 4

Category: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free

Prep+Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

- Green melon, size of baby head, cubed

- Persian or seedless cucumber, sliced or cubed

- 1 japapeno very thinly sliced (mandolin if you have)

- 1/3 cup ricotta salata, shredded

- 1/4 cup pepitas

- 1 TBSP grapeseed oil (can use canola or any other high heat oil)

- 1/3 cup basil or mint

- salt and pepper

1. Toast the pepitas in a frying pan on medium heat, shaking every 30 seconds for a couple minutes until they are deep golden brown. Set aside to cool.

2. Chop up melon. I like to first peel it, then cut in half, get rid of inside seed/wet part then cut into cubes.

3. Trim ends off cucumber, slice or cut into cubes. You can peel skin if you want!

4. Slice the jalepeno very thin, we used a mandolin.

5. Assemble on a plate or toss together in a bowl - starting with the melon, then cucumber, jalepeno, ricotta, pepitas, and top with your herbs!

*Adapted from Bon Appetit *Cool tip: This salad really doesn't need a dressing but you could drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar over top if you want!