savory sunday // green and white salad
Hello 60-degree weekend! And happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! How about something easy and delicious today, eh? Something maybe someone ELSE could make for mom? Or something that takes 10 minutes to make from stuff already in your fridge?A few months back, Bon Appetit ran a piece on constructing the perfect salad (which I would link to except I just spent 20 minutes trying to find it online and HOLY COW MAKE THAT EASIER PLEASE CONDE NAST). I was inspired by their formula, which was basically greens + protein + fat, and decided to rummage through my cupboard or fridge and see what I could pull together right that moment.This salad is what I came up with, and I really love it. I also served it to a few guests who raved and raved about it, so even though it's SUPER simple, I thought I would share it with you. My favorite part is that I always seem to have these ingredients lying around and it requires zero planning and totally fills me up.
First, you'll need:• Some greens. I use about 1/2 bag (maybe a little less?) of baby mixed greens from the store. I buy it prewashed in a bag because I am lazy.• Some cucumber -- about as much as you see above... 6 slices or so.• Some salty nuts. I eyeball it, but I would guess 3-4 tablespoons. I prefer cashews, but I have also used macadamia nuts (yum!) or sunflower seeds.• Feta cheese -- again, probably 3-4 tablespoons or to taste• Avocado (of course). I dice up 1/2 and save the second half for tacos the next day.• White beans (about 1/4 cup)• OPTIONAL: If you want the salad to serve as a meal, you should add in some leftover rotisserie chicken.
Step one: Chop up the ingredients (cucumber and avocado and chicken if you're using it). This is a salad, not rocket science.
Step two: Put it all in a bowl and toss with your favorite dressing. My very favorite salad dressing on the planet is Paul Newman's balsamic vinaigrette (either light or regular). I know many people make their own delicious dressings, but this is my favorite. And pouring from a bottle is easy. Have I mentioned how lazy I am? I use 1.5 capfuls for this salad.
Voila! Toss and serve. For a side salad (half of this serving) it's 313 calories (which would fill you up for lunch). If you are starving after a long day at work and you eat the whole thing (oh c'mon, we've all been there), it's 626 calories.For your internet share, here is a dessert that looks easy enough for even ME to attempt and tastes like strawberry cheesecake. Let's all go inhale this now, shall we?