Are you searching for the perfect meal to serve to your guests or family? The Refreshed Entree Salad is a sumptuous display of vibrant vegetables and is a consistent crowd pleaser.
The Refreshed Entree Salad evolved from The Steak Supper Salad found in one of my best-loved cookbooks, The Junior League Centennial Cookbook. It is favorite of ours that I’ve updated to accommodate our nutrition and health goals. The combination of cooked vegetables, a bed of fresh greens, and mustard dressing is delicious. With new additional layers of fresh microgreens, garbanzo beans, beets, and updated dressing, it is packed with nutrients. This salad is beautiful, versatile, and a perfect example of adapting old favorites to support your changing lifestyle. Use your beloved cookbooks as inspiration for your new way of eating.
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Potatoes Small, Fresh, Whole Cooked and Cooled
- 1 Lb Asparagus Fresh, Trimmed, Blanched, and Cooled
- 1 Lb Green Beans Fresh, Trimmed, Cooked, and Cooled
- 1 Lb Beets Medium to Small, Fresh, Cooked, Cooled and Sliced
- ½ Lb Garbanzo Beans Cooked, Rinsed, Drained, Cooled. Or 1 15 oz can, rinsed.
- 1 Lg Red Bell Pepper Julienned
- 8 Oz Greens Organic Spring Mix
- ½ Red Onion Sliced (optional)
- 1 Cup Micro Greens
- 1½ tsp Salt For cooking Potatoes,Beets and Green Beans (Optional)
Mustard Dressing
- 1 Cup Mustard Prepared
- ½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 4 Tbsp Tahini (Ground Sesame Seeds)
- Pepper To Taste
- Water To Thin
Instructions
- Boil the new potatoes with skin and covered with salted water for about 10- 15 min. Check for doneness by piercing with a fork. They should be soft throughout without being mushy. Rinse with cold water, drain, set aside to cool. Slice.
- In a pan, cover the fresh, )ends trimmed) beans with lighlty salted water. Bring to boil and cook about 5 min. Test often. They should be firm but but not crunchy. Rinse in cold water, drain, set aside to cool.
- To blanch asparagus, bring 2 cups of water to boil in a pan. Lay the asparagus in the water. Toss to cook all sides. Cook only for 5-10 seconds. The asparagus should become bright green and remain crunchy.
- Prepare beets by trimming stems down to 1/2 in. Leave the small stems and skin on the beets to cook. Boil 12 cups of lightly salted water. Add beets and cook 20-30 minutes, depending on the size. To check doneness, pierce with a fork. They should be tender, but not mushy. Remove from boiling water, place in cold water to cool. Cut off stems and slip off the skin. Slice
- Garbanzo beans are best when cooked fresh, though a can of rinsed garbanzo beans will work in this recipe just fine. To cook fresh garbanzo beans, I like to do a quick soak by covering the beans with water in a pan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. Rinse, cover with fresh water, and bring to a slow boil. Cook approximately 30 mins to one hour until cooked through. They should be soft but firm when mashed with a fork. Rinse with cold water to cool the cooked garbanzo beans.
- Slice the red bell pepper into long thin strips.
- Pat dry all prepared vegetables. I prefer to arrange the prepared vegetables and garbanzo beans on the bed of greens and top with microgreens. It's a beautiful presentation. Your family or guests can create their own salad by choosing all or some of the ingredients.The same vegetables are beautiful when arranged on a charcuterie board and served with the dressing as dip.
Mustard Vinaigrette
- Whisk ingredients together. The Mustard Dressing is deeply concentrated so a little goes a long way. To mellow flavor and adjust consistency, add additional water as desired.
Nutrition
Mustard, like all prepared foods, may have unwanted ingredients. Yes, even mustard! It’s essential always to read ingredient labels. I chose Spicy Brown Koops brand mustard with the least ingredients, and no added sugar or oil. It already contains salt so there is no need to add additional salt to the dressing. Jeff Novick, MS RDN gave a fascinating talk (here) about reading labels and the purposeful confusion of labels. Labels have improved since this video was made, but this information continues to be relevant. He explains, for example, why added oil can be listed as an ingredient but the label can show zero total fat in the nutrition facts. It is an interesting presentation.
One of my favorite dressings is a simple cashew miso combination. I use either chickpea or azuki bean miso from South River Miso. They have a sweet and salty taste which, blended with the cashew cream, creates a deeply flavorful dressing. It’s quick to prepare. I also use this combo in veggie wraps. Mmm…so good! Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp Cashew Cream To create cashew cream, simmer about 2.5 oz/ 71g cashews for 1-2 minutes in water, drain, add to blender with just enough fresh water to blend into a thick creamy consistancy.
- 8 tbsp Miso My favorite miso for salad dressings are South River Azuki Bean Miso or South River Chickpea Miso.
Instructions
- To create cashew cream, simmer about 2.5 oz/ 71g cashews for 1-2 minutes in water, drain, add to blender with just enough fresh water to blend into a thick creamy consistancy.
- Blend the cashew cream with the miso along with a small amount of water to create the consistancy you prefer.
Notes
Nutrition
Let’s talk about microgreens. Microgreens are expensive to purchase, but so easy to grow. I have mircogreens growing in my windowsill continuously and use them at every opportunity. I encourage you to do the same. Microgreens are nutrient dense with just a few leaves and can be added to soup, salad and sandwiches. How to grow microgreens~Here~
Are you updating your favorite entree’s or need help doing so? I’d love to hear from you! b@lifeseasoned.com
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Enjoy your day!
B