When we get those sizzling hot North Dakota summer days, the last thing we’re in the mood for is cooking or eating a hot meal. Instead of firing up the stove, grab a big salad bowl and head out to your garden to pick your dinner! Salads are at their best when you’re growing some of your own vegetables, so put them to good use!
You can get pretty creative with your salads and throw in almost anything you’re growing in your garden. However, sometimes a little inspiration can help make it easier to decide what to combine, so here are three delicious salad recipes that you probably have the ingredients for right now!
Balsamic Grilled Steak & Pepper Salad
This recipe is for two large salads, but if you’re serving more, just add a couple of extra steaks and pluck some more veggies from your beds.
Make the dressing a day ahead and use half to marinate your steak, and keep the other half in the fridge for your salad.
Toss your favorite cut of steak and some whole red peppers on the grill. Turn the peppers every few minutes until they have those beautiful char marks on each side, then remove.
Grill your steak to the doneness you prefer, then let it rest on a plate under a tinfoil tent while you collect the rest of your ingredients.
Dressing
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- Pinch salt & pepper
Salad
- A small handful of chives, chopped
- 2-3 handfuls of arugula
- 2-3 handfuls of lettuce (add other greens if you have them, too)
- 1-2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes or chopped slicer tomatoes
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1-2 grilled red peppers, sliced
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)
Chop your fresh ingredients into a salad bowl and toss to mix. Divide your salad greens onto two plates.
Slice up your steak and red peppers, and arrange them on top of your salads. Crumble blue cheese over the top if you’re using it, and then drizzle with the other half of your marinade.
Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is so simple, it really only requires five ingredients, two of which you probably have in your garden. It also looks beautiful on the plate! You’ll need fresh mozzarella for this salad, so make sure to grab some at your favorite grocery store! Did you know that bocconcini cheese is mozzarella? It’s just shaped into pearls and usually packaged in a mild brine.
This salad can technically serve 2-4, but it’s so delicious, you might want the whole thing to yourself!
Salad
- 3-4 ripe tomatoes
- 12 ounces fresh mozzarella or bocconcini
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar glaze
- Lots of fresh basil leaves
- Salt & pepper to taste
Slice up your tomatoes and mozzarella into slices of similar thickness. Lay them out on a large plate, alternating between tomato slices, cheese slices, and basil leaves.
Drizzle generously with olive oil and balsamic glaze, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Everything In the Garden Salad
This is the kind of salad where you can get endlessly creative. You can quite literally add anything you’re growing in your garden to this recipe!
Dressing
- Juice of 4 lemons (or ½ cup lemon juice)
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1-2 cloves fresh garlic minced (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Salad
- 1-2 handfuls of lettuce leaves
- 1 handful of basil leaves
- 3-4 sprigs of parsley
- 1 handful arugula
- 1 handful spinach
- 1 bunch mustard greens
- 2-3 kale leaves
- 1 handful Swiss chard leaves
- 1-2 handfuls of fresh herbs
- 1-2 large tomatoes or 2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 carrots
- 1-2 cucumbers (or small zucchini)
- 1-2 celery stalks
- 4-5 radishes
- 10-15 sugar snap peas
- 8-10 green beans
- 1-2 green onions
Wash, roughly chop, and toss all your greens in a large salad bowl. Chop the larger and heavier veggies into bite-size pieces and sprinkle them over the top. Try shaving your carrots with a peeler for a different texture.
For protein, add some leftover sliced chicken, grilled steak, crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, nuts, tofu, or your favorite cheese.
You can also add croutons, chopped fruit or berries, seeds, olives, nuts, or whatever you have on-hand.
Immediately before serving, whisk your dressing ingredients in a bowl (or shake in a shaker) until well incorporated, then drizzle over your delicious salad. You can also add some spices like chives, oregano, or rosemary to change up the flavor. You can store the leftover homemade dressings in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Get a Salad Bowl & Get Creative
Salad is really anything you want it to be. Head out to your garden with a big bowl, a pair of scissors, and get snipping! For the best texture, pick your salad ingredients in the morning and store them in the fridge to crisp them up. Let your lettuce and greens soak in cold water for 10-15 minutes for even faster crispness. Bon appetit!