My garden salad with creamy, spicy pesto dressing is my cry for help this week with the CSA and farmer’s market veggies. I nearly named this the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad, but refrained. The abundance has, for this week at least, gotten the better of me. Here’s a quick rundown of the haul from this week’s CSA: snap peas, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, chard, arugula, fennel, and cilantro. Add to that from the farmer’s market, potatoes and green onions. And then there were the two absolutely gorgeous artichokes a friend from work gave me. Plus the kohlrabi that’s still chilling in the fridge from last week.
So I managed to get through the snap peas, broccoli, lettuce, chard, and cilantro this weekend. The arugula was a surprise – I initially thought it was spinach and blissfully planned to make use of it for breakfast one morning this weekend. And then I tasted it. (My husband is not an arugula fan – so it was a good thing I tasted before cooking). The green onions will find a purpose, as will the potatoes. This leaves me with the artichokes, the fennel, a few carrots and the remainder of the arugula. Oh, yeah, and the kohlrabi. Fortunately, I have the 4th of July off, so I think that should take care of the artichokes – I don’t want those beauties to go to waste. I think I can handle the fennel and carrots with my go to quick refrigerator pickle. The kohlrabi…maybe I’ll find a purpose for it next week.
This is my favorite problem to have – lots of veggies in the fridge. One of my favorite ways to remedy this problem is through a garden salad with creamy, spicy pesto dressing. I’m fortunate that I’m also starting to get some veggies to produce in my garden in pots (you get strange looks around here in Oregon if you say you have a pot garden, so I’m careful how I phrase this). I’ve got nasturtiums spilling out of the pots, as well as a modest crop of Easter egg radishes. I decided to combine the abundance from the yard with the abundance from the fridge to make the creamy, spicy pesto dressing by using a combination of arugula, radish greens, and nasturtium leaves to make the pesto. The salad was easy – what a great way to make use of a head of lettuce, as well as the carrots, snap peas, and radishes. Oh – and that head of lettuce – could it be any more beautiful than this?
You can, of course, use whatever veggie is lurking in your veggie drawers for this salad. I also happened to have some leftover bacon, as well as a block of my absolute favorite local cheese: Face Rock Creamery’s Vampire Slayer Cheddar, so threw those in as well.
Happiness is having a garden salad with creamy, spicy pesto dressing tucked away in pint jars for the work week ahead.
Ingredients
- 2 cups spicy greens (e.g., arugula, nasturtium leaves, mustard greens, radish greens)
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons spicy pesto
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 head lettuce, washed and drained
- Assorted veggies
- Cheese, chopped in small cubes
- Bacon (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the first three ingredients in a food processor. Process until everything is roughly chopped and then add in the olive oil. Process until smooth. Pesto will freeze to be used later.
- Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. Refrigerate until using.
- Combine all ingredients and dress with the Creamy Spicy Pesto Dressing.
- Serves 4. Enjoy!
In case you are wondering about what my lunch looks like on a practical, day-to-day basis, here’s a quick look into my fridge (I cleaned it this weekend so it would be photo presentable).
I take a Pyrex container with me to serve my salad, along with my silverware. I opted to bring a slice of bread to go with my salad, along with a yogurt parfait with fresh raspberries and a little bit of granola for a snack.
