It's summer here in New England and it is a time of year when the best local zucchini and summer squash are ripe for the picking. I think I eat more zucchini and summer squash in July and August than I do the entire year. This awesome summer salad with roasted veggies and garlic scape vinaigrette is a recipe and video from a year ago. Unfortunately, I lost, then found, then lost, then found it again. I'm normally pretty organized, but somehow I couldn't keep track of this one. So here we are... finally! This salad was made from the amazing veggies and greens from my CSA share at Clark Farm in Carlisle, Massachusetts.
What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it's a way to support local farmers by purchasing a "share" of the farm before the growing season. You can usually buy half shares, full shares, spring shares, summer shares and other varieties as well. I am very lucky that I live near an amazing organic CSA farm in Carlisle.
There is a pick-up spot in a large barn where you can fill your bags with incredible veggies and greens. There is also an incredible pick-your-own component to most CSA programs. At Clark Farm this ranges from strawberries, blueberries, a huge selection of fresh herbs, snap peas, green beans, all kinds of peppers, and the best cherry tomatoes you will ever eat in your life!
It can be a bit costly, but you can always split a share with a friend to lighten the financial load.
Eating healthy, organic, local vegetables in the summer is one of my favorite things to do. You can make so many amazing summer salads!
How to Make Summer Salad with Roasted Veggies
This one is easy to make and will make you feel so good too. You can add whatever you want to your salad. I love roasted veggies any time of year and they give this salad a hearty feel - definitely an entree size.
Simple Healthy Ingredients Are The Key:
- Organic Greens, summer squash, zucchini and broccolini from Clark Farm are the star of this dish.
- Slice your veggies. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and stick in the oven.
- Wash and cut your romaine, arugula and red lettuce.
- Chop more add-ons. I used radish, red onion and cherry tomatoes.
- Think of your favorite crunch factor topping - I went with pistachios. You could also use that crusty bread you've got to make homemade croutons.
- I also had garlic scapes from my farm share and made an awesome garlic scape vinaigrette here. You can do this or use your favorite.
- Assemble your salads and enjoy!
Summer Salad with Roasted Veggies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 large salads 1x
Description
Summer salad with roasted veggies and garlic scape vinaigrette will make you feel so good. Easy to make and a hearty vegetarian option for dinner.
Ingredients
For the roasted veggies:
- 1 large yellow summer squash
- 2 small-to-medium zucchini
- 1 large bunch of broccolini
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 bunch of arugula lettuce, chopped
- 1 tiny head of red lettuce, chopped
- 15-20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 3-4 radishes, sliced full or half-moon
- ¼ of red onion, thin sliced (about ¼ cup total)
- ¼ cup of roasted, salted pistachios (de-shelled)
- ½ cup garlic scape vinaigrette (or your favorite dressing)
NOTE: you can use whatever greens you want here. I had three greens in my CSA share when I made this so I used them all.
Instructions
-
Cut the top and bottom tips from the summer squash. Slice squash at a slight angle and at about ¾-1” of thickness. They should be a large oval shape.
- Do the same with the zucchini. Cut top and bottom tips. Slice zucchini at a slight angle and at about ¾-1” of thickness. They should be a large oval shape.
- For the broccolini you can use a knife or kitchen shears to cut the stalks off. The stem length should be whatever your preference is – as long or short as you like. Same with the leaves – you can remove all or leave a few like I did.
- Lay out your veggies on a large sheet pan. One side should be your zucchini and summer squash and the other the broccolini.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the veggies then season with salt and pepper. Toss the veggies to coat. Make sure the summer squash and zucchini lay flat on the sheet pan.
- Roast in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, turning the veggies once half-way through cooking. If you want your veggies more tender, cook them a few minutes longer.
- Chop your lettuce into bite-sized pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. I used three greens because that is what came with my CSA share that week. Use whatever greens you want.
- Slice cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.
- Slice radish into half-moons or rounds if you prefer and set aside.
- Cut a chunk off a red onion and slice it thin – maybe a quarter cup total here depending how much onion you want.
- Once your veggies are cooked let them cool for 10 minutes before assembling your salads.
- I used a homemade garlic scape vinaigrette for this, but you can use whatever dressing you want. Pour the dressing over the bowl of greens (as much or little as you want) and toss with your kitchen tongs.
- Salad assembly: Transfer greens equally to four salad bowls, layer all your toppings after that: roasted summer squash, zucchini, broccolini, red onion, radish, cherry tomatoes and pistachios.
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