I had some friends over for dinner last night.
They brought the Tri-Tip, and I made the salad.
I wanted something a little bit different.
So I made Martha Stewart’s Summer Salad!
I quickly snapped a few pictures before I got swarmed by the hungry mob. I didn’t think they would wait for to long, for me to get much of a photo shoot. I even forgot the dang garnish. 
It was scary!
So these are the pictures you get.
Blame them, not me!
Fresh green beans, sweet tomatoes, with zucchini and cucumber, mixed with homemade croutons, and a mustard vinaigrette, this big bowl of veggie love was a hit! I served the cucumbers on the side because the hubby doesn’t like them. I also made my croutons on the stove, instead of the oven, but other then that I made this recipe as written We enjoyed it as a side to our steak, but this Summer salad is hearty enough to be a light meal. Enjoy!
This week’s Martha Monday pick was by yours truly. If you would like to participate in Martha Monday, you can find all the info here.
| Fresh Summer Salad Recipe! |
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- Coarse salt
- 8 ounces green beans, trimmed
- 1 pound baby zucchini or regular zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 pound small ripe tomatoes, such as cocktail or cherry, halved
- 1 English cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces ciabatta (about 1/2 loaf), torn into 1-inch pieces
- Combine vinegar and shallot in a bowl; set aside to let shallot soften.
- Prepare an ice-water bath.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt and green beans, and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer green beans to ice-water bath.
- Add zucchini to boiling water, and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer zucchini to ice-water bath. Let cool, then drain.
- Toss green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumber in a large bowl.
- Add mustards, herbs, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to shallot mixture. Add 1/4 cup oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Pour vinaigrette over vegetables, and toss. Let stand at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld. (Vegetables can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and a pinch of salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
- Add croutons to salad, and toss. Let stand 1 hour before serving so that croutons can soften. If you prefer your croutons crisp, add them to the salad just before serving.
To bake croutons in the oven:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, and toss. Toast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks beautiful! ANd nice to have friends who bring the meat!
Looks like a great salad, perfect for a gathering! The ciabatta sounds like it would be good in there.
This looks like a real treat — & better yet, we have all the produce ingredients growing in our garden
I have everything I need to make this. Yay! Except cucumbers–my hubby doesn’t like them, either. Great use of the abundance of summer veggies.
Love the idea of making this a one dish meal for summer. My hubs doesn’t like cucumber either lol.
Well, you know my view on this salad: love, love, love.
Still thinking/dreaming about it. A true winner in our house.
Looks fabulous! My husband and I would love it!
I don’t have any dijon mustard, but I could toast some mustard seeds in oil and try that?
An excellent salad, very healthy with all the vegetables, and I like the mustards here.
the salad looks so gorgeous and so fresh… it is so colorful and looks and taste good.
It looks delicious!
Happy blogoversary
This looks like the perfect summer salad…those homemade croutons look incredible! And mustard vinaigrette, mmm….
I love this. You made it look so appetizing and I might replace the croutons with potatoes, but it would still work. (I might bring this to a family reunion Saturday).
I’m with your husband on the cucumbers but the rest sounds wonderful!
Still looks good. Don’t you just hate it when you forget to finish up a plate because you have everyone around youi trying to dig in.
I am finally back and catching up to rwading close to 500 posts….