Summer Salads

These two salads are not novel, in that I have prepared them for many members of this blog's audience. Nevertheless, they are quickly becoming summer favorites - and we enjoy them so much, we thought they merited repeating with my parents in town this weekend, as well as sharing on this blog.

The first is a twist on the classic Caprese. It is an avocado, tomato and mozzarella pasta salad. Fresh, farmers market tomatoes are key to making this dish. And as for what I would do differently... next time I would amp the whole grain mustard in the dressing as I think that element adds a lot. The recipe is as follows:

6 oz farfalle (bowtie pasta)

6 ripe red tomatoes

8 oz fresh mozzarella

1 large, ripe avocado

2 TB chopped fresh basil

2 TB toasted pine nuts

Dressing:

6 TB olive oil

2 TB wine vinegar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp whole grain mustard.

pinch of sugar

S&P

Pretty straightforward instructions. Slice and arrange the tomato, mozz, and avocado. Cook the pasta. Whisk the dressing. Toss the pasta with half the dressing. Drizzle the rest over the tomato, mozz and avocado. Sprinkle with pine nuts and basil. Serve.

The next salad is originally a Kaky Grant recommendation from the Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook. In fact, I copied it down at the Grant's lovely abode in Greensboro on a scrap of Catherine McGinness FONZ paper. Wow :)

Sauteed Corn and Snow Peas. The fresh ginger really makes this dish pop, as does the lime juice. My only change to the recipe directions below is to cook the corn and snow peas a little less. Especially if you have quality, fresh ingredients, you don't want to mess them up by overcooking them. We find that keeping a nice bite/crunch to the veggies really makes this salad delish.

4 ears of corn, shucked and cut from the cob

2 TB unsalted butter

2 TB minced fresh ginger

2 large shallots, chopped

1/2 lb snow peas, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4" strips

S&P

1 TB fresh lime juice

Melt butter in medium sautee pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and shallots and cook until almost soft, 2-3 minutes. Add corn and snowpeas, S&P and cook until just tender, 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Stir in lime juice, more S&P an serve.