Yesterday was one of those trips to the grocery store when every piece of organic produce looked so good, I was having a hard time narrowing down what to buy f our dinner salad. I settled on pretty basic veggies, and the salad was delicious in its simplicity and freshness. It's vegan, raw, healthy, filling and satisfying. And, the mustard in the balsamic vinaigrette tied verything together nicely. If you want something a little heartier, make some quinoa or kamut and throw that in the salad too.What You Need:For the Salad:
4 cups chopped kale
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped on-the-vine/plum tomatoes
1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped baby portobello mushrooms
1 cup chopped radicchio
1/2 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
1/2 cup finely sliced scallion/green onion
2 cups cooked garbanzo and kidney beans (or beans of your choice
For the Vinaigrette:
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder or fresh chopped garlic
2 tsp ground pepper
a few shakes of salt
What You Do:
Combine all veggies in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, garlic, pepper and salt. Whisk in mustard, and then whisk in oil. Taste as you go and adjust seasonings and liquid amounts to your preference (I personally added even more vinegar and mustard than what's listed above, but that's because I have a slight vinegar obsession)
You can either dress the whole salad - even if you have leftovers to keep in the fridge, kale is a sturdy enough green that the vinaigrette won't cause it to wilt - or, portion out the salad in serving bowls and dress each individually.