I’m not a salad lover…normally I just don’t find leaves all that appealling. But I recently stumbled upon an exception and, possibly for the first time in my life, I’ve discovered a salad that I actually crave. Its something I can easily throw together for dinner, or even tote to work for lunch. Its colorful and amazingly flavorful — which I find particularly fascinating because it doesn’t contain any ingredients that I find especially offbeat or uncommon.
A friend recently asked me for healthy, easy weeknight dinner ideas — here you go!!! Serve with warm french bread, grilled chicken (heck, even a grocery store rotisserie chicken), or even a grilled cheese sandwich and you’ve got a meal. Again, I can’t for the life of me explain why this is so good but this one is JiT approved (“Yummy Salad” is his term) and I’m certain that you’ll like it too.
Yummy Arugula Salad
Serves 4
4 cups young arugula leaves (you can also use a bag of Spring Mix salad greens)
1 cup plum tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (just toss them in a saute pan over low heat for a few minutes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large avocado – peeled, pitted and diced
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (just toss them in a saute pan over low heat for a few minutes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large avocado – peeled, pitted and diced
Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss (or a bowl with a lid and shake) until dressing is evenly distributed. Serve and enjoy.
“why is it yummy?” well, let’s see — with a quarter cup of parmesan, an avocado, pine nuts (toasted) … what could possibly NOT be yummy about it? YUM!and arugula is TOTALLY a favorite of mine. did you know it’s REALLY easy to grow from seed, grows fast and you can start it early in the chicago season? allison/amomthing
Okay…you’ve got a point about the avocado and the cheese ; )Good tip about growing arugula. We don’t have any outdoor space, but I’ve been toying with the idea of a window garden. I wonder how this would do….
I’m in for just about everything but the pine nuts, vinegar and oil. But the photo looks delish!