Super Summer Salads You Absolutely Have to Try

It’s hot and muggy and the last thing you want is to work up a sweat in the kitchen. What to do? Opt for easy to prepare summer salads. Make them light and refreshing, toss in colors and texture and enjoy the light fare without a whole lot of culinary fanfare. Cash in on summer produce—they are plentiful and come in all shades of vibrancy from pearly ears of corn to the green crunch of zucchinis. Just dice, shred or chop and add your favorite dressings. Or make your own dressings. Play it up or tone it down—let your whim dictate how you want it to turn out. After all, summer is made for lounging around and enjoying family, friends and good food.

Here are some simple summer salads you can easily whip up in no time:

Corn and Black Bean Medley

Having fresh corn in the summer is like eating chocolate in Belgium. Can’t get better than that. Summer corn promises juice, crunch, sweetness and lots of fiber and nutrients. Pair that with beans, a group of superfoods that are mighty in fiber power and high in folate and B vitamins, and you’ve have a serious bowl of health-preserving goodness. You can soak your beans and cook them the old-fashioned way but why bother, it’s summer after all—pop open a can and cut yourself some slack in this super easy to prepare salad. This salad goes well with any entrée. I like mine with lightly pan-fried curry tilapia.

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh ear of corn, remove kernels from corn and microwave for 1 min.
• 1 can of black bean (or whatever bean you like), drained and rinsed
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 sprig of green onion, diced

Put them all in a large bowl and toss with your favorite dressing or try this:

Dressing:

• 1 tsp pomegranate infused with red wine vinegar
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all the above ingredients and toss with vegetables. Serve chilled.

Cucumber and Nectarine Ensemble

Summer offers lots of fresh fruits. Take advantage of that and toss some into the salad. Go to the farmer’s market for tree-ripened fruits—they’re just the best. Adding a little fruit to the salad gives it color appeal—a pop of color here and there to please the eyes and seduce t the appetite. On top of that..it gives the salad a little natural sweetness. When cool cucumber meets the soft fragrance of nectarine, the result is one kaleidoscope of gastronomical delight.

Ingredients

• 1 firm nectarine, diced
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/ 2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1/ 2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Put all the above into a large bowl and toss with the suggested dressing below.

Dressing:

• 1 tbs of red wine vinegar
• 3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A sprinkling of Italian seasonings

Wakame-Cucumber Sealight

Summer is also a time for experimentation, especially with unusual ingredients or ingredients you’re not quite familiar with—like seaweed (or sea vegetables) for instance. Most people are familiar with nori, the kind of seaweed used in sushi. But there are lots of varieties out there, after, seaweed is a staple ingredient in many Japanese and Chinese cuisines. Take wakame, for instance. This seaweed can be added to soup, used in dishes or in salad. The seaweed in the miso soup is probably wakame. Then there is Kombu and hijiki and arame seaweed. It will take a whole hub just to differentiate them but it’s summer, remember? We’ll leave that reading to some other time and get on with our salad. For this salad, I use wakame in the dried form. I brought the package of wakame seaweed, conveniently paired with dried shitake mushroom and green onion. Usually, you’ve to soak wakame in water but I skip this step and allow the wakame trio to steep in the natural juices of cucumber--minus one step and one step closer to indulging in this Asian-inspired salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, seeded and cut in thin strips (julienne)
• 1 red bell pepper, julienne
• 1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
• 1 thumb of ginger, finely chopped
• 1 small bowl of wakame seaweed
• A handful of toasted sesame seeds

Put all above ingredients in a large bowl and toss with dressing below:

Dressing:

• 2 tsp of brown sugar
• 2 tsp of soya sauce
• 2 tbs of sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbs of rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Even though these are summer salads, who is to say you can't make them all year round? Enjoy them anytime of the year, anytime you feel like something light and refreshing. Anytime, life gives you a vision of summer bliss....even in the dead of winter.

Other food hubs by anglnwu:

Why Drink Green Tea?

Anthocyanins: Powerful Antioxidants to Promote Health

How to Include Antioxidants in Your Diet

How to Steam Food in a Bamboo Steamer

5 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Vegetables