Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

My sister, Beth, gave me this recipe - great for summer and very easy:

4 small zucchini (1 lb total)

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz) 1 (6-oz) piece Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Garnish: thinly sliced tips of 2 zucchini blossoms*; 4 fresh mint sprigs


Cut zucchini diagonally into paper-thin slices with slicer. Arrange slices, overlapping slightly, in 1 layer on 4 plates.   Make stacks of mint leaves and cut crosswise into very thin slivers, then sprinkle over zucchini.
Whisk together oil and lemon juice in a small bowl, then drizzle over zucchini. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper to taste, and pine nuts. Let stand 10 minutes to soften zucchini and allow flavors to develop.
Just before serving, use a vegetable peeler to shave cheese to taste over zucchini, then sprinkle with zucchini blossoms and mint.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 cup mixed greens
a couple tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomato
soft goat cheese - 1/3 cup
1/4 cup shredded parmesean or romano cheese
Add all ingredients into a bowl.  Prepare 1 cup dried pasta, once finished cooking strain pasta but reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.  Add cooked pasta and reserved pasta water into salad, toss and serve.
Serves 1 person.

Strawberries-Green Grapes-Vanilla and Mint Fruit Salad

2-3 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 cup green grapes
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour to let the flavors blend. A delicious fruit salad, and also a great dessert!

Italian House Salad

A huge favorite, mainly because many years ago I memorized the recipe and this is a very basic, very delicious easy to make salad. I got the original recipe from a cookbook my friend Pat gave me, and have altered the recipe a little bit:

16 oz mixed greens
1/2 thinly sliced purple onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup sliced black olives

Toss the above ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together the following for the salad dressing:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper

Pour the dressing into the salad, mix and serve.
Serves 4 people.

Watermelon, Arugula, Pine Nut Salad

I made this salad last night, but it was missing something - pine nuts! An essential ingredient:

2-3 cups chopped, seedless watermelon
6 oz Arugula
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta

In a small bowl add 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp fresh lemon juice and slowly whisk in 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add to the watermelon/arugula, toss and season with some salt and pepper.

Fresh Green Bean Salad

I love making this salad in the summer -

About 1 pound of Fresh Green Beans, trimmed, halved (if the beans are too long), cooked and cooled
A handful of mint, chopped
1 minced clove of garlic
A generous amount of olive oil
Some red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
Toss the above together

Due to this being a family recipe, there aren't any specific amounts, sorry...

Orange/Goat Cheese/Cranberry Salad

I created this salad a little while ago, and it's been very popular by anyone who's tried it - I took my family's Italian Orange salad idea, and added a few other items - very delicious!

1 navel orange, peeled segmented and then each segment halved
2 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup - 1/3 cup strong cheese (I've used Goat Buche cheese, a soft blue cheese works well, too)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Add the oranges to a bowl and pour a good amount of olive oil over, adding salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the mixed greens, cranberries, and crumbled cheese. Toss and serve.
Serves 2 people, as a side dish

Shrimp Caribbean Salad

I was at the store yesterday and happened to walk by the fish case where these jumbo shrimp were 50% off the regular price. They looked great, didn't really smell, and just needed to be sold quickly. I bought these, brought them home, boiled up some water, threw the shrimp in for a few minutes and cooled them in an ice bath overnight. I just threw together a salad that has a bit of a Mexican-Caribbean taste -

6-8 Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and boiled
2 cups mixed greens
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a fresh lime, squeezed
Some chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tsp dried cilantro
a few (to taste) chopped jalapenos
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 avocado, chopped

Toss the above and serve - Probably serves 2 people as a side dish, or 1 person as a main dish
*The only thing missing would be adding some fruit, maybe a kiwi chopped, some jicama would be good too.

Greetings!

I'm a big fan of the salad and since I have so many salad recipes stored or remembered as random creations, I thought a blog would be a great place for A Salad A Day. Enjoy!