Roasted fresh chiles probably strike you as an unusual salad ingredient. How often do we eat spicy salads? Well, if you like fresh chiles, and you like salads, this combo works. The tomatoes and avocados curb the heat, and the fresh cilantro and oregano make everything pop. This is one of my go-to salads all year around. I find it equally satisfying on hot and cold days. In the summer, I like to serve it with a light-bodied cold beer. In the winter, a darker sipping beer, such as a porter or stout, goes great. And of course, there is always the margarita! Use crunchy greens, such as romaine, and serve it with warmed corn tortillas. Heck, it’s almost like a taco salad. Well, sans beef, cheese, and sour cream. So—an ultra healthy veggie taco salad.

Ingredients:

3 fresh Anaheim green chiles, roasted and cut into chunks (see below)
3 medium tomatoes (sliced)
1 avocado (sliced or diced)
¼ cup corn kernals
2 green onions, sliced
small head of romaine lettuce, chopped
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
a handful of fresh oregano, chopped
olive oil, about 1/8 cup
lemon juice, about 4 tbsp., or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
corn tortillas (optional)

Guidelines:

Roast your chiles. How? Like this: Place the chiles under a broiler, turning frequently (with tongs) until blackened on all sides. Remove and immediately place in a paper bag. Put the paper bag in your refrigerator. Let the chiles sweat out for about 20 minutes, then remove from the fridge, and peel the blackened skin away from the chiles. If you have sensitive hands, wear gloves. If you don’t wear gloves keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and lips, for at least half an hour!!!

Remove most of the seeds from the chiles and cut into chunks.

In a large bowl, combine the roasted chiles, tomatoes, corn, green onions, cilantro, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, and lemon juice. Toss well. Add the avocado and toss gently so you don’t squish it.

Cover bowl with wrap and let mixture marinate for at least half an hour. If you want a colder salad, let it marinate in the fridge, otherwise room temperature is fine.

Wash and chop the romaine. Add it to the roasted chile mixture, and toss gently.

Serve with warmed corn tortillas and cold beer.

While I was making this salad, my husband popped into the kitchen and asked what was for dinner. I told him, and he said: “Huh. Sounds… interesting.” It sounded just fine to me—no, better than just fine—but he’s not particularly adventurous in the culinary world, so I understood. When he tasted it however, he told me the dish was 1,000 times better than he’d imagined it would be. In fact, he asked for the peaches again the next night. I was craving them, too. Imagine sweet, juicy peaches wrapped in crunchy, salty prosciutto, and grilled to perfection. Mmhmm. Don’t know what prosciutto is? It’s the Italian word for ham, and in the United States, you can buy the paper-thin, dry-cured raw version in most well-stocked delis. Luckily, I had a couple more peaches, and a few slices of prosciutto left. We grilled them up, and served them alongside grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. Either way—in a salad, or as a side-dish sans greens—these prosciutto wrapped peaches are an excellent way to dress up dinner.

Ingredients:

*Please note (again), I’m not a fan of measuring, especially for dishes like this. What I offer you below are guidelines. Adjust to fit your personal style and the amount of people you are feeding.

3-4 peaches, of any variety
1 package prosciutto, about 4 ounces
spring greens, about 5 ounces
hazelnuts, about ½ cup
balsamic vinegar
hazelnut oil
fresh ground pepper (optional)
brown sugar (optional)

Whisk the balsamic vinegar with the hazelnut oil. Start with an equal ratio, about 4 tbsp. to 4 tbsp. and adjust to fit your tastes from there. Personally, I prefer more vinegar to oil, but most recipes call for more oil than vinegar. I also tend to prefer my salads “dry,” meaning I don’t like them dripping with dressing. Each to their own. Make it your way. I also liberally grind fresh pepper into the oil and vinegar. That’s optional, of course. And if the dressing is too tart for you, add a pinch of brown sugar.

Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Cut each peach half in half, so you end up with four slices per peach.

Cut the prosciutto slices in half length-wise. Wrap each peach quarter with a prosciutto slice.

Skewer the prosciutto wrapped peaches and place on a grill. Grill a couple of minutes on each side, or until the prosciutto is cooked through. Remove and let cool slightly.

In an oven, or on the stove, toast the hazelnuts until the skin darkens. Be careful, this doesn’t take long! Remove from oven or stovetop, let cool. Rub the skin off the hazelnuts, then coarsely chop.

Toss the mixed spring greens with the hazelnut-balsamic dressing. Gently mix in the hazelnuts. Plate the greens, and top with the prosciutto-wrapped peaches.

Serve with crusty bread and an herb-infused oil dipping sauce.

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I’ve been running on four hours of sleep a night for two weeks, so forgive me if I make this short and snappy. Really short and snappy. In other words, here’s the recipe. Or, to be more exact, here are the “guidelines,” as I rarely measure for recipes like this. Use your best judgment, and adjust quantities depending on persons to be served and individual tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

grilled chicken breasts, sliced
dried cherries
feta cheese
Kalmata olives, halved or sliced
fresh dill
mixed baby spring greens
balsamic vinegar based salad dressing (preferably homemade; see below)
Pita chips

Guidelines:

Rub chicken breasts with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until done. Let cool, then slice thinly.

In a large bowl, toss the mixed baby spring greens, the balsamic vinegar based dressing, and the fresh dill. (I like to make my own dressing by mixing about 4 tbsp. quality aged balsamic vinegar with about 2 tbsp. of quality olive oil. Add a pinch of sugar, and some fresh ground pepper. Whisk.)

On individual serving plates, place the dressed salad greens. Top with dried cherries, feta cheese, halved or sliced Kalamata olives, and the grilled chicken slices.

Serve with Pita chips.

I think this is my new favorite salad. It’s a tough call, but there is something about the combination of ingredients that make this salad lip-smacking good. The avocado, grapefruit, jicama, radish, and honey poppy seed dressing complement each other in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. (But I’d hoped!) The avocado is buttery and creamy, the grapefruit tart and juicy. The jicama provides lightness and crunch, while the radish adds bitterness and spice. The honey poppy seed dressing rounds the whole thing out. Plus, the salad is colorful, which I always like. Most of all, however, it’s refreshing. I was amazed at how energized I felt after eating it. And I ate a ton! Then I made another batch the next day.

I also added spelt berries to the salad. I often add whole grains in lieu of meat, as a healthier alternative. If you prefer meat, however, I suggest adding a few grilled shrimp. Just a few… Shrimp are very high in cholesterol.

Spelt is an ancient, mild flavored grain. It’s related to wheat, though most people with wheat sensitivities find they can tolerate spelt, and it’s often used as a wheat alternative. It does contain some gluten, however, so those on gluten free diet should opt for a different grain. Spelt berries, in addition, to being high in fiber, are high in a variety of minerals, including manganese and niacin. They also contain some protein, so those of you worried about eating this as a main dish, don’t have to worry as much.

I don’t have exact measurements for this salad. They are more like guidelines. Add more or less of the ingredients you like. One large bowl of salad usually feeds both my husband and I. Sometimes we have a slice of bread on the side, or a smoothie to go along with it, but more often than not, the salad alone satisfies us. The same is true of the dressing–adapt it to fit your taste buds.

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach, washed and spun dry
1 or 2 avocados, peel and pit removed and sliced
1 large grapefruit, sectioned, pith removed, then diced
½ jicama, peeled, julienned
6 large radishes, sliced
½ cup spelt berries, cooked according to package directions
honey poppy seed dressing (below)

Guidelines:

Toss spinach with honey poppy seed dressing.

Top plates with dressed spinach.

Top the dressed spinach with a handful of each of the above ingredients. Toss lightly.

Serve.

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing:

3 tsp. honey
¼ cup cider vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Whisk all ingredients together. Taste. Adjust as necessary.

The original version of this recipe belongs to Amy Sherman of the Cooking With Amy blog. (Click here to view. ) I made her recipe for April’s Project Food Blog Cook-off, and it took one of the top spots. I love how versatile it is, how easy it is to prepare, and, of course, it’s supremely tasty. Those toasted raviolis… Mmmmm!! Beware—they are addicting. After I made Amy’s recipe, I immediately thought of half a dozen variations. Here’s one of them. Let’s call it Ravioli Dinner Salad with Parmesan Crisps. Parmesan Crisps are a nifty trick I learned from Earthbound Farm’s Food to Live By cookbook. Not only do they taste great, they look decorative, too. Love them! Okay, let’s get started, shall we?

Ravioli Dinner Salad with Parmesan Crisps

Salad Ingredients:

1 package cheese and herb raviolis
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
Parmesan cheese, about ½ cup
sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
fresh basil
olive oil

Special Need: Parchment paper

Dressing Ingredients:
(original version from Moosewood Restaurant’s Lo-Fat Favorites; this is the Kelly version)

a handful of sundried tomatoes, not packed in oil
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
enough water to achieve the desired consistency (start with ¼ cup)

Prepare the dressing. First, soak the handful of sundried tomatoes in hot water until softened. Then, combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until you reach desired consistency, adding more water if necessary. Set aside.

To make the Parmesan crisps, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a medium-sized baking sheet. Place the parchment paper over the surface of the baking sheet. Using a microplane grater (or the fine blade on your cheese grater) grate the Parmesan cheese into a bowl. Take a large pinch of the Parmesan (a tablespoon or two) and place it on the parchment paper, making an even mound about an inch or two across. Repeat, leaving about an inch of space between mounds, until the cheese is gone and/or the baking sheet is filled. Bake until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Cook the raviolis according to package directions. Drain. In a large sauté pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. In a single layer, place the raviolis in the pan, Sauté until golden on each side.

Wash and tear lettuce. Spin dry in a salad spinner, or pat dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, toss the greens with the salad dressing. Top with the remaining sundried tomatoes, the toasted raviolis, the Parmesan crisps, and fresh basil and fresh ground pepper to taste.