Category: Salads

Watermelon Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Watermelon salad is a quintessential summer dish. And our sweet New England summer is flying by. So, make this dish pronto! Maybe it’s a Labor Day BBQ side dish?

This salad is bright, crunchy, sweet & salty - I served it with my once-a -summer-treat: grilled hot dogs! It was a perfect pairing.

One mostly sees watermelon salad recipes with feta cheese, but I used Halloumi cheese. It’s a salty cheese like feta but unlike feta it is a firm cheese and will keep its shape and not ‘bleed’ all over the watermelon. I made lemon vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, but feel free to use a light prepared dressing of your choice. (I suggest a vinaigrette-style dressing rather than a creamy dressing, so the colors of the salad remain vibrant.)

There are many ways to make this dish simpler to prepare. For example, we sell cut watermelon at Foodie’s in 1.25-1.5-pound containers - perfect amount for this recipe. And I also used Chatham Village brand Home-style Garden Herb croutons. They provide a crunch and are more neutral in flavor than Caesar-flavored croutons. They will add a crunch without adding another cheese flavor. (You could, of course, make your own toasted croutons.)

Broccoli Salad by Chef Laura Brennan

This is an easy, delicious and crunchy broccoli salad that does NOT call for cooking the broccoli. All the ingredients are prepped (the ‘mise-en-place’) and tossed together with a seasoned mayonnaise dressing. (I used Hellman’s, my favorite.) And feel free to substitute ingredients; for example: you could omit the bacon or switch out the raisins for dried cranberries or use toasted sunflower seeds instead of almonds.

Winter Citrus Salad with Grilled Halloumi by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A bright and tasty layered salad, elegant enough for a special Valentine’s Day dinner. I layered thinly sliced oranges, cucumbers and radishes on a bed of baby watercress. I used a pre-made balsamic vinaigrette and added a few ‘quick-pickled’ shallots and toasted sliced almonds. It’s crunchy, sweet, tangy and with the addition of a bit of grilled Halloumi Cheese, a bit savory/salty.
FYI: A YouTube video can be very helpful in showing you how to trim, peel and slice the oranges.

Braised Lentil Salad with Browned Shallots, Sheep’s Milk Feta and Pickled Radishes

There seems to be no end to what one can concoct with a good legume. And the lentil is a perfect example: full of good plant protein, tasty when served either hot, cold or room temperature and mixes well with a wide range of ingredients. And if you haven’t tasted sheep’s milk feta cheese, I encourage you to try it. It’s less salty with a correspondingly milder flavor and a creamier texture. I have found Bulgarian Sheep’s Milk Feta in the cheese departments of well-stocked grocery stores. And the pickled radishes…. well, just because they are a sweet, crunchy, and tangy touch. It’s a little accessory that dresses up the salad. (But raw radishes will work as well.) Start by pickling the radishes the day before if you can. They will be crisper and more flavorful if they spend a night in the fridge.

Grilled Romaine & Vegetable Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Fire up the grill! It’s Father’s Day! This is a beautiful and simple grilled salad that can be made ahead. Prep the vegetables and get out
there before the meats go on the fire—you can even prep the veggies the night before and wrap and refrigerate. The surprise here is the grilled romaine hearts—the bit of char gives a depth of flavor to the humble romaine.

A Festive Holiday Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This salad ticks all the boxes: it’s colorful, crunchy, seasonal, and a bit exotic!
I made it for our Thanksgiving table and wowed the crowd! Persimmons are available in the market right now and for this salad, I used the squat round variety called Fuyu. It’s like an apple, sliceable and delicious when firm, unlike the ‘pointy’ Hachiya variety which is eaten when super-ripe and soft and has a very custardy texture.

Autumn Kale Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A kale salad with thin slivers of bosc pear, celery and toasted pumpkin seeds spells fall to me! I have taken the kale-prep a step further and cut stacks of washed & dried kale leaves across into thin strips. This technique is called ‘chiffonade’ in French. The result is a salad with a more slaw-like texture. Peeling the celery lends more finesse and mixing two vinaigrettes/dressings will give you the right coating-texture. And don’t forget the toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch!

Summer Harvest Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A slow stroll through the Copley Square Farmers’ Market on a late summer Tuesday afternoon
provided the ingredients for this colorful & delicious salad with at-peak fruits & vegetables.
Heirloom tomatoes, never refrigerated, heavy and juicy are the perfect choice for this salad. The
two small cucumbers I peeled and sliced were so fragrant; I had forgotten about the aroma of a
very fresh cucumber. And I discovered a delicious and new-to-me ingredient pairing: peaches and
kale. Who knew they went together so well? Now in season at Foodie's!

Tzatziki (Greek) Potato Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a potato salad that is tangy and bright with yogurt and fresh herbs. The dressing is made with a grated

English/ seedless cucumber mixed with the yogurt, herbs, scallions and a touch of garlic. I have borrowed

a Julia Child ‘hack’ and mixed the apple cider vinegar with a bit of the potato cooking water and sprinkled

this over the cooked, cooling potatoes. The potatoes absorb a bit of their starch along with the diluted vinegar

as they cool. And yes, there is a bit of mayonnaise, just enough to add a touch of richness. But, feel free

to replace the mayo with sour cream, it will just be ‘tangier’.

Black Bean, Mango Lime Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Our store manager told me the salad wasn’t pretty but was delicious!!  And I had to agree with him!

Instead of adding a shiny oil-based vinaigrette to finish the salad I opted for a chipotle ranch dressing (Drew’s Organics, Chipotle Ranch, 12-ounce, Dressing & Quick Marinade).  The dressing did coat the beans and altered the black bean ‘shine’ but the finished dish had a richer and more complex flavor.

The salad comes together fairly quickly, many of the ingredients are already prepared. Use your favorite brand of cooked black beans, try the prepared chipotle ranch dressing (Cindy’s makes a version also) and you can even buy already-cut mango pieces. (Or watch a YouTube video to learn how to peel and cut a mango if you haven’t done it.)  Mangoes are fairly cheap right now, about a-buck-apiece.  One mango will yield about 8 ounces of peeled fruit and/or 1 ¼ cup diced fruit.