White Bean Salad with Fried Garlic Toasts

Low-effort and no-cook are ideal characteristics of a late summer, weeknight meal. Grilling is great, but sometimes you need something even easier—not to mention fresher—to put on the table. This white bean salad has been one of my favorite 15-minute dinners this summer, eaten straight, tossed with a bit of arugula, or best of all, with slices of sourdough that have been fried in butter and garlic. It’s satisfying (beans and feta cheese!) but also delivers some produce (tomatoes, cucumber, parsley). Some might call this an appetizer, but for me it’s just right as a light meal. Happy August!

White Bean Salad with Fried Garlic Toasts

Published July 30, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can navy beans

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes

1/4 red onion, minced

1/2 cup feta crumbles

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste (optional)

For the toasts:

4-5 slices bread of choice (such as sourdough)

2-3 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic

Directions:

1. Strain and rinse navy beans. Place in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Add diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta, and parsley. Gently stir until ingredients are well distributed. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Add freshly cracked black pepper to taste, then season with salt to taste (Note: the feta will also add salt to this dish, so really taste it as you add salt. I find I only need to add a little bit. If your beans were already salty, you may not need salt at all).
4. Bean salad can be made several hours ahead of time. Cover and place in fridge until ready to eat.
5. When ready to serve, prepare the garlic toasts: mince garlic. Add garlic, along with 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a skillet and warm over medium heat. Swirl butter in pan to cover the bottom.
6. When pan is hot, place several pieces of bread in skillet in a single layer. (My 10-inch skillet only fit 3-4 pieces at a time, depending on size. Work in batches.) Toast on the first side for 3-4 minutes. Then, use tongs to flip bread to second side. Add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of butter if pan gets dry. Toast for 3-4 minutes on second side, then remove from pan. Repeat until all slices are toasted.
7. Serve: top each toast with bean salad and set on serving plates.

Roasted Corn Salad with Fresh Herbs

Real summer is still a ways off, but we’ve been eating like it’s already here. An over-sized watermelon eaten in wedges, grilling every evening for dinner, and lots of fresh greens and herbs. This roasted corn salad includes a lot of quintessential summer ingredients. I wanted to publish it early in the season so you could take advantage of the first corn at the market. Grilling the corn and red bell pepper give a great toasted/caramelized flavor, while using a mix of herbs—basil, cilantro and parsley—add freshness to every bite. I used queso fresco, but if you’re unable to find that at your local grocery store, try feta or goat cheese crumbles.

Roasted Corn Salad with Fresh Herbs

Published June 4, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4-5   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 corn cobs

1 large red bell pepper

1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled

1/4 heaping cup cilantro leaves

1/4 heaping cup parsley leaves

1/4 heaping cup basil leaves

1/4 of a red onion, sliced thin

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Remove husks and silk from corn. Cut bell pepper in half and remove stem and seeds.
3. Place corn and pepper on grill. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until outside is brown in spots. Remove from heat.
4. Allow pepper and corn to cool enough to handle (you can speed up the cooling process by placing them in a bowl with cool water).
5. Dice roasted pepper, and place in serving bowl. Cut corn kernels from cobs, and place in bowl.
6. Add queso fresco, herbs, red onion, olive oil, and vinegar to bowl, and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve.

Asian Chopped Salad with Sriracha Roasted Cashews

This is an older recipe from Foraged Dish and I wanted to give it an update. Same recipe!

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Have you tried these cashews yet?

If your answer is yes, you’re probably now thinking, “I should make those again this week.” If your answer is no, what are you doing?! Hop to it!

We joked that I should sell those cashews rather than sharing the recipe … but here we are. And I’m going to give you one more reason to make them yourself: a fresh, crunchy salad that will make a great potluck dish or light lunch.

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What’s in the bowl: I used to call this a “slaw,” but that word never quite hit the nail on the head. “Slaw” is short for coleslaw, which is usually a cabbage-based salad dressed with mayo. That’s nowhere near what this salad is. While still a cabbage-based salad, this bowl is also full of other veggies, like bell peppers, carrots, radishes, and bok choy (basically a big bowl of crunch!). Cashews sprinkled on top add to that crunchy, and the whole thing is dressed with an orange-sesame vinaigrette. (I’m crazy about toasted sesame oil, the flavor is out of this world and a little bit goes a long way).

Asian Chopped Salad with Sriracha Roasted Cashews

Published April 16, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the salad:

2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage

1 red pepper, sliced in thin strips strips

1 carrot, julienned

1/2 cup daikon radish, julienned

1 heaping cup bok choy, roughly chopped

1/2 cup Maple-Orange Sriracha Roasted Cashews

Optional: 2 tablespoons minced cilantro

For the vinaigrette:

Juice from 1 medium orange

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Pour ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar. Place lid on jar, and shake.
2. Chop vegetables, and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with about 1/3 of the vinaigrette, and toss. Top with cashews.
3. Serve, adding more vinaigrette to taste.