Garden Salad (Fresh, Healthy Italian Style)
A garden salad can easily be a meal in itself. Enjoy this fresh and healthy, Italian style garden salad with a piece of cheese, and slice of crusty bread and you’re all set.
Do you take advantage of all the spectacular summer vegetables when they are in season?
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I hope you do, because I know that I miss them immensely during the winter.
This fresh and healthy garden salad, made Italian style, is probably my favorite type of salad (without lettuce). Those green leaves you see in the photo above are celery leaves.
Healthy doesn’t mean tasteless! It’s quite the opposite.
So, in the spirit of healthy eating, I’m posting one of my favorite salads; one with no lettuce. When I am in Italy and make this salad with everything out of an aunt’s garden, I swear that I tell myself if this was all I could eat for the rest of my life, I would be content.
I just went to the Santa Monica farmer’s market yesterday and picked up some lovely heirloom tomatoes. I also had peppers, onions and celery from my mother’s garden (she came to visit.) When you buy celery at the grocery store, the leaves have been cut off, but this is actually the healthiest part of the vegetable!
If you can buy organic celery at a farmer’s market, or fruit and veggie stand, wash the leaves well and cut them up into your salad or use them when cooking, in addition to the stems (however you would add them to your dish.) Not only are they good for you, but the leaves are really delicious!
Panzanella- Traditional Italian Bread and Tomato Salad
Once you’ve cut up all the beautiful, fresh vegetables for the salad, STEP AWAY FROM THE REFRIGERATOR! Don’t go for that highly processed salad dressing!
All you need is some really good quality extra virgin olive oil, Kosher or sea salt and good quality vinegar, or even lemon juice. Or, if you are a vinegar hater like my son, (I really should get his DNA checked to make sure he’s really my child) you can omit the vinegar all together. Doesn’t this look incredibly tasty? It should, because it is!
This is the standard Italian way to dress a salad; just pour the ingredients directly onto the veggies. There’s no need to shake them up in a jar or bottle first. In fact, this somehow changes the flavor, and it’s not in a good way. Just trust me on this one.
Garden Salad (Fresh, Healthy Italian Style)
Ingredients*
- 2 large tomatoes (I like heirloom varieties) sliced, organic
- 1 large or two small, green and/or red peppers, organic, cut into squares or slices
- 2 stalks celery, organic, with leaves, chopped
- 1 small cucumber, organic, sliced
- 1 small onion, organic, preferably sweet (green onions are also good) sliced
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
- 1 or 2 tsp wine vinegar (I love a strong wine vinegar, but you can use balsamic, or lemon juice or omit)
*add or omit organic veggies according to your taste.
Directions to Make Garden Salad
Place all the vegetables into a serving bowl.
Add the oil, vinegar and salt to taste (4 to 1 ratio for oil to vinegar is approximately what I do).
Mix well, and don’t omit the salt as it brings out all the flavors of the vegetables, which you’ll miss without it! I use a wee mortar and pestle to grind up flaked sea salt.
The variations of salads on this theme are endless.
I just made a similar healthy garden salad the other day, but added a little endive and a few mixed leaf lettuce leaves, pickled peppers and crumbled goat cheese!
Luckily, I did snap a quick pic before I devoured it!
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Simple, Fresh and Healthy Garden Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes (I like heirloom varieties sliced, organic)
- 1 green pepper (or red peppers, organic, cut into squares or slices)
- 2 stalks celery (organic with leaves, chopped)
- 1 small cucumber (organic, sliced)
- 1 small onion (organic, preferably sweet, sliced- green onions are also good)
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp Kosher salt (or sea salt, a pinch)
- 1 Tbsp wine vinegar (or more)
Instructions
- Place all the vegetables into a serving bowl.
- Add the oil, vinegar and salt to taste.
- Mix well, and don't omit the salt as it brings out all the flavors of the vegetables, which you'll miss without it!
Notes
- Use fresh, quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Nutrition
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Moka pot! Love making this fresh simple summer salad. Keeps nicely for a couple of days. Vegetables at hand!
It’s so good! Drawing a winner soon!
I wanted to mention that I actually decided to buy a dressing, and it’s incredible. It’s made by Kewpie, and it’s a Roasted sesame dressing. I use it on salads with cabbages and noodles and avocado and it’s amazing. Otherwise I’m with you. No purchased dressings! Great looking salad.
Never heard of it, but looked it up and #1 ingredient is canola oil which I avoid. At least it’s not filled with lots of chemicals, so that’s good. :)