Last weekend turned out to one of those weekends when most everything on our menu was backyard-to-table. We harvested a good crop of eggplant and bell pepper, as well as tomatoes, basil and greens. Love summertime when there is enough light for me in the evenings for me to putter around in the garden and talk to my plants. Ha ha, yeah I do that sometimes!
V is continuing on his salad kick and loved the Basil-Tomato Dressing I had made couple of weeks back, and I still have some of that left in the refrigerator. I do need to start labeling these dressings! And before I turned around, there was enough basil for another batch of pesto. I decided to make yet green dressing using basil, this time from a brand new book called Saladish by Ilene Rosen. It must be really hard to write a whole book on salads and I really appreciated the creativity that went in to the book.
The salad I made for our lunch consisted of lots of greens (I used arugula), tomatoes, and avocados. The protein came from the pan-fried tofu sprinkled with salt and pepper. As I final step, I topped the salad with some micro-greens but delicate herbs like dill or chives would work as well. Topping with some crunchy nuts makes it a filling and complete mid-day meal.
One tip for dressings left in the refrigerator. It does tend to thicken and coagulate and so before using it, I gently warm it up in some warm water or by placing it in the microwave for around 30 seconds.
Recipe for a A Very Summery Salad with Basil-Mustard Dressing
Serves 2 for a light lunch
Dressing inspired by a recipe in Saladish by Ilene Rosen
- 1 14oz block of extra-firm tofu
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 2 large handfuls of arugula or spinach, washed and drained
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, washed and cut in to wedges
- 2 avocados, washed and cut in to wedges
- About 1/4 cup of microgreens or chopped herbs to sprinkle on top
- 1/4 cup walnuts or macadamia nuts
- For the dressing (enough to save for a couple more meals):
- 2 cups packed basil leaves, washed
- 4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- A generous pinch of white sugar
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Prepare the dressing:
- Pulse all the dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. If the dressing is too thick, use more oil or a little bit of water and mix
- Prepare the tofu strips:
- Drain the tofu of all water by placing the block of tofu on dish and placing something heavy on top for a couple of hours
- Slice the tofu in to 1/4″ thick slices
- Place a wide pan on the stove and add a tablespoon of oil
- When the oil is hot, place the tofu slices and turn the heat to medium or low
- Flip the tofu after 5-7 mins to the other side until it is evenly golden on both sides
- Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and slice further into thin strips
- Assemble the salad:
- On two salad plates, place a large handful of arugula each
- Place half the sliced tomato, sliced avocado and as much tofu strips as you want on each plate. (Save the remaining tofu strips for another meal)
- Sprinkle microgreens and nuts on top
- Drizzle with the green dressing and enjoy
We sat outside in the garden to enjoy this very summery salad as the smell of basil, gardenia and roses wafted by. I do love mild Bay Area summers like this but at the same time, I sent a silent prayer to people all over the state affected by the nasty wildfires.