This bright and refreshing salad is a great use of what’s in your garden or at the farmers market. The main herb is basil, so if you can’t get your hands on (or don’t like) parsley or mint, feel free to replace with more basil.
Shopping List & Prep
For the salad:
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
3-4 small Persian cucumbers (or 1 medium English), cut into half or quarter round pieces (pieces should be approximately the same size as cut tomatoes)
1 small handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 small handful flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 small handful mint, roughly chopped
1/4 C feta, crumbled (optional)
For the dressing:
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry or champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl
For some reason, our zucchini plants got lots of blossoms, but not a lot of zucchinis, which was fine by us because we LOVE fried stuffed squash blossoms. Here’s a recipe so you can try them, too!
Store bought hummus doesn’t hold a candle to homemade. And once you make it yourself, you’ll never pay $5 for that little container again. Hummus made from dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas) is really worth the time to soak and cook beans. But, if you don’t have the time, no worries—canned beans taste nearly as good!
When we’re lucky enough to find carrots with their tops, our first thought is PESTO! This bright pesto is a perfect compliment to a minestrone-style soup made with our Ras el Hanout (and the carrots, of course). If you like cheese in your pesto, we suggest grating a little–or a lot!–of parmesan reggiano on whatever you‘re serving.
