3 Basic Summer Salads for Your Kitchen
As we approach summer, it is incumbent upon me to share a few of my go to basic summer salads that every kitchen should have. I just love alfresco dining under the warm summer skies, with a delicious cold plate and a refreshing drink. Summer salads are the perfect sides to go with your bbq dishes and light summer wines. It’s always good to have a few basic salad recipes on hand. Here are three of my favorites.
Broccoli Salad
What I love about a good broccoli salad is the different textures throughout the dish and the way the flavors of sweet , salty and savory comes together to create this magical flavor party in you mouth. The yogurt dressing is a nice compliment to the natural flavors from the vegetables. This broccoli salad recipe is always a hit when I am entertaining.
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- 2 lbs of broccoli florets washed and cut into bite size pieces
- Half red onion finely sliced
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese cut into medium size chunks
- 6 slices of crispy cooked bacon cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced in fours
- ½ cup dried craisins (optional)
- ½ cup sliced salad topper almonds (optional)
- For the yogurt dressing:
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 3 tbsps honey
- 2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp chopped cilantro
- ½ tsp juice from fresh lime
- salt & pepper to taste
- mix together all the salad ingredients in a large bowl
- then mix together all the the ingredients for the yogurt dressing adding more or less salt and pepper as desired
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix together thoroughly
- serve right away
Potato Salad
There are many many renditions to a good potato salad and truth be told, it all comes down to preference. I prefer to keep mines fairly simple especially when I’m entertaining different groups of people. Enjoying a delicious potato salad in a cold plate is how I love to eat mines.
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- 5 lb of red potatoes
- 8 boiled eggs shells off
- ½ cup of finely diced red onion
- 1 small can of peas and carrots (water drained)
- ¾ cups of mayonnaise
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- Boil potatoes, skin on in salted water on medium high heat until soft but not mushy (about 20 min)
- Once the potatoes have completely cooled carefully peel them and dice into bite size pieces.
- Dice the eggs and add to the potato along with the red onion and peas & carrots
- add in the salt and pepper to taste and then the mayo and mix together well.
- taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
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Macaroni Salad
This is one salad that is very versatile. I’ve made it the traditional way with tuna, I’ve made it with chicken and I’ve also made it without meat and added boiled egg to it. Either way its always tasty and the fresh vegetables and herbs give it a good flavor and really nice crunch. It’s also one of those salads that you can eat alone and it is a complete meal.
- 2 cups cooked macaroni (drained and cooled)
- 1 can large tuna fish drained and flaked
- 2 stalks of celery finely diced
- ½ large onion finely diced
- ½ large green pepper finely diced
- ½ large red pepper finely diced
- 1 small can of sweet corn nibblets (drained)
- ¾ cups mayonnaise
- salt & pepper to taste
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add mayonnaise and mix together well.
- taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Summer salads add a lovely compliment to any event when it’s hot and sticky out and there are so many different salads to choose from. I love that most of them can be prepared before hand, which makes them perfect for weeknight cooking. I hope you enjoy these, I’ll do a few more in the weeks coming!
