Summer Salad

Who doesn’t love a good salad in the summer? It’s light, cool, and requires no use of the stove. Sounds like a winner to me! With both Independence Day and Canada Day behind us, and after all the burgers, macaroni salad, potato salad and hot dogs, and then we can’t forget the pies, cupcakes and cookies, I think we all need a little salad in our lives. And I mean real salad, not the cream loaded, potato and macaroni versions we’re so fond of during these summer months.

Sometimes sharing a recipe for a salad can be kind of pointless, I mean duh, lettuce and cucumber plus oil and vinegar = obvious. But this salad, is one of my favourites. It combines simple ingredients that we all have on hand to create the ideal main course salad. There’s protein from the beans, flavor from the roasted red peppers, capers and sun dried tomatoes, and the dressing is an all around winner. And the best part about this salad, not only is it vegetarian but it’s vegan too! I know some people are afraid that vegan food is bland, but let me tell you, this salad does not skimp on the flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Summer Salad (serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Indredients

1 roasted red pepper, chopped (see post, How to Roast a Red Pepper)
1 19 oz can bean medley, drained and washed
1 ½ – 2 inch piece of cucumber
1 green onion, finely sliced
3 cups baby spinach
¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

For the dressing:

2 ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

To make the dressing, in a small bowl, squeeze lemon. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking to combine. Whisk in the oregano.

In a large bowl, stir roasted red pepper, and bean medley together. Cover with dressing and toss to coat. Add remaining ingredients and serve. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Enjoy this salad, sometimes I like to change it up and throw a few hot pepper flakes and avocado in there as well. This summer salad is a fabulous base to let your imagination run wild.

– Lou