It’s noon and your stomach is starting to growl. You’re hungry for something precise: a light afternoon meal. The solution is an easy-to-make salad that you can take to the office or to a picnic. As an added bonus, fresh, local ingredients turn a tossed salad into real a treat for your taste buds. On the menu: three savoury salads and a fruit salad to end on a sweet note.
1. Quinoa Salad
This recipe by Montreal chef Kimberly Lallouz is packed with protein and stays fresh in the fridge for four days. There’s a generous mix of cranberries, almonds, butternut squash and quinoa.
4 cups of cooked quinoa
1 cucumber cut into cubes
3 chopped green onions
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup of roasted almonds
½ a bushel of chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ of a butternut squash
Olive oil or grape seed oil
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of paprika
Apple cider vinegar to taste
Salt & pepper
Directions
1. Season ½ of the butternut squash with nutmeg, cinnamon & paprika and cook it in the oven at 375˚F for 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Let cool & cut into cubes.
3. In a large bowl, mix with the rest of the ingredients. Toss with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper to taste.
2. Summer Vegetable Salad
Pick produce from your garden, take a trip to the market or visit a local farm; this recipe from Recettes du Québec requires ingredients that are in season. In this healthy melange, you’ll find lettuce, cucumber, radish, zucchini, tomato and beets.
1 chopped head of lettuce
1 sliced cucumber
1 grated carrot
½ of a grated zucchini
½ cup sliced radish
1 cup grated beets
1 cup red or yellow cherry tomatoes
½ cup alfalfa sprouts
2 tbsp of fresh chives
2 tbsp of fresh parsley
Vinaigrette
½ cup heavy cream
Pinch of mustard powder
Pinch of celery seed
Pinch of garlic salt
Salt & pepper
Directions
1. In a vinaigrette bottle, mix heavy cream with seasoning.
2. Refrigerate the vinaigrette for at least 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix the vegetables, sprouts and herbs.
4. Garnish the finished salad with the vinaigrette.
3. Turkery & Orzo Bowl
Shake up your poké bowl by skipping the rice or quinoa. Try orzo instead. The rice-like pasta is the base of this 5 Ingredients 5 Minutes meal. You can also replace turkey for smoked tofu if you want a vegetarian option.
1 ½ cups orzo
1 zucchini
6 slices of smoked turkey breast
4 sliced bocconcinis
12 cherry tomatoes cut into wedges
1 grated carrot
Fresh basil
Directions
1. Cook orzo in salted boiling water.
2. With a spiralizer or a mandolin, cut the zucchini & carrot.
3. Roll the turkey slices & cut them in half.
4. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper.
5. Layer the cooked orzo, smoked turkey, zucchini, carrot, cherry tomatoes & bocconcini. Garnish with the vinaigrette & basil.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Fruit Salad
Finish off your lunch break with something sweet. Opt for a mouth-watering fruit salad made with strawberries, watermelon, kiwi, apple & pear. Top it all off with a delicious drizzle of maple syrup. No need for a recipe, just get creative with your favourite flavours.
Try these recipes out & let us know what you think in the comments below.
Bon appétit!
Adapted from French by Kylee Ross
