I made this with chickpea/quinoa pasta we had on hand and initially created it as a pantry cleanout meal - some of our favorites! I ended up adding carrots, bell peppers, olives and chickpeas, and then an olive oil + herb dressing at the end. You can't beat a one pot meal!! And looks at all those veggies!

Print

Chickpea, Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad

An easy, pantry-friendly Mediterranean inspried recipe for pasta salad with olives, chickpeas, bell peppers, kale and carrots.

Course Lunch

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Bell Pepper, Chickpeas, Olives, Pasta, Salad

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 small package pasta I used gluten free chickpea/quinoa pasta here
• 3 bell peppers, diced
• 2-3 carrots, diced
• 1 can olives (diced or whole)
• 2 cans chickpeas (~ 25 ounces); 1 can would work too
• ¼ cup olive oil; more to taste
• ½ tsp salt; more to taste
• fresh cracked pepper
• ½ tsp each dried basil, oregano, parsley; fresh would be great too

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package. While pasta is cooking, dice any veggies if you haven't done so already.
• Drain pasta, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water to use for sauce (if desired).
• Toss in the veggies, chickpeas and olives immediately, stirring to combine (this should warm everything up). Add in the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper and combine. Add more olive oil and/or a bit of pasta water if the mixture looks (e.g., if it's a big box of pasta0.
• Serve on its own or on top of a bed of lettuce/kale like we did! Bon appetit!

The post Chickpea, Olive and Bell Pepper Pasta Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

This kale salad was inspired by the need for an easy + green meal - and a multi-grain croissant I had picked up at Whole Foods!! It's a go-to recipe for a simple and bright salad, and as always, very flexible with toppings.

I made a base dressing of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and good mustard (Sir Kensington's is my favorite!). Mix it up well, until the olive oil and vinegarare emulsified with the mustard. I usually shake it up in a well-sealed jar!

Next, massage your kale with the dressing. A hearty kale will will be great after sitting with the dressing for 10 minutes or so - it will become a bit softer. Finally, top with anything you have on hand! I used hemp seeds, carrots, a red pear, and a few almond flour crackers. Delicious for a simple and light meal! It would also be great paired with roasted chicken or shrimp.

Let me know if you try this out, and bon appetit!

Print

White Balsamic Kale Salad

An easy, bright and citrusy recipe for a white balsamic kale salad that works with any topping – perfect for a quick but nutritious meal!

Course Brunch, Lunch

Cuisine American

Keyword Balsamic, Dressing, Salad

Cook Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 people

Author Andrea | French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

• 6 cups or more chopped kale
• 2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon good mustard
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• Optional toppings: sliced carrots sliced pear, hemp seeds, roasted chicken

Instructions

• Add dressing ingredients to a small jar or Tupperware. Shake vigorously to combine!
• Massage the kale with the dressing, reserving a bit to drizzle on top later. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
• Add toppings and drizzle with remaining dressing.

The post White Balsamic Kale Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

Like a lot of recipes lately, this was inspired by a pantry item: canned tuna! No matter how much I meal plan, there are always some pantry items I want to tackle to keep my inventory low. I purposely bought a lot of tuna so that I would eat more fish....I tricked myself and it's working. That was the inspiration for this easy Mediterranean salad I made the other week! It came together in less than ten minutes and uses common and affordable pantry staples - canned tuna and olives! I had mine with kale, but you could use any base of greens, feta, and tomatoes for a fresh and filling meal.

This was a layered salad - not really tossed in a bowl, but I piled items on top, hence the pretty layout 🙂 I like the way the layout reminded me of a salad nicoise! Plus, it doesn't require dirtying another bowl, which is always a plus.

I started with a base of chopped kale leaves, then drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, followed by a few dashes of salt and pepper. On top I added canned tuna that I had mixed with lemon, olive oil and turmeric (hence the yellow-ish color!). For toppings I threw on some diced tomato, bite sized carrots, sheep's milk feta and olives. Such a perfect combination! Basil would be great, but I had a little cilantro to use up so i added that as well. The freshness of the greens, lemon + herbs really went great with the hearty cheese and tuna. These olives are super mild, too, so they didn't overtake the rest of the dish!

Let me know if you try this out!

Print

Easy 10 Minute Mediterranean Tuna Salad

This Mediterranean tuna salad comes together in less than ten minutes and uses affordable pantry staples – canned tuna and olives! Serve it with any base of greens, feta, and tomatoes for a fresh and filling meal.

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups leafy greens lettuce, kale, arugula
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil plus more for tuna
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice plus more for tuna
• 1-2 small carrots diced or sliced
• ⅓ cup crumbled or diced sheep’s milk feta cheese
• ¼ cup pitted black olives
• handful of small tomatoes halved
• 1 can no salt added tuna or salmon
• pinch of turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Tear or roughly chop your greens to desired consistency and add to a large bowl or plate. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon or so each of olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle on salt and ground pepper, to taste.
• Drain the tuna; break apart and stir together in a separate bowl with a bit more olive oil and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste; add in the turmeric if using.
• Add as much of the tuna to the salad as you’d like to eat (I did a little more than half a can). Sprinkle on the carrots, olives, diced tomatoes and feta. Finish with the oregano on top!

Bon appetit 🙂

The post Easy Mediterranean Tuna Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

It's pretty straightforward - I think you can see all the main ingredients in the photo! A base of arugula (or other light greens like baby kale + spinach would work well too), a few dollops of ricotta (I used good whole milk ricotta), sliced peaches, sliced avocado, torn basil, thyme, salt, and peppers. I drizzed on a tablespoon each of extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar at the end. You could use regular balsamic, too, but the lighter flavor of the white balsamic is nice to complement the fresh fruit and herbs. A diced version of the fruit + avocado would also be great and not require a knife!!

Enjoy, and bon appetit!

Print

Peach, Ricotta, and Avocado Salad with Thyme, Basil and Arugula

The perfect summer salad, bursting with flavor from ripe peaches, creamy ricotta and avocado, and brightness from white balsamic vinegar, basil and thyme. No cooking needed so this comes together in just a few minutes!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 serving

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad

• 2-4 cups arugula or other greens
• ¼ avocado sliced or diced
• ½ ripe peach sliced or diced
• ⅓ cup ricotta
• 3 Tablespoons fresh basil torn or finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

Dressing

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Add salad greens to a large bowl.
• Add on the sliced (or diced) peach and avocado. Dollop on the ricotta, a few spoonfuls at a time.
• Drizzle the whole dish with the olive oil, then the vinegar. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
• You can mix it up or enjoy as is, mixing as you dig into the salad!

The post Peach, Ricotta, and Avocado Salad with Thyme, Basil and Arugula appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

This salad would be great for a potluck or any other gathering because it presents itself so well! Assemble all the salad components and keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to toss and serve. I didn’t have any nuts on hand, but toasted almonds, walnuts or pecans would complement the flavors well and add a little extra crunch. We served ours with seafood since we were at the beach, but this would be great with any other protein like grilled chicken or fish.

Enjoy 🙂

Print

Easy Peach Goat Cheese Sweet Corn and Arugula Salad

Fresh arugula greens are mixed with sweet peaches, sweet corn and crumbled goat cheese, then finished with a honey balsamic vinaigrette for a delicious and satisfying summer salad. Naturally #glutenfree and #grainfree. Omit cheese for a #vegan option!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 3 -4 small servings, or 2-3 large

Author Andrea Shome

Ingredients

Salad

• 10 ounces arugula or other salad greens
• 4-5 ounces 120g or so goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 peach sliced
• 1 ear sweet corn peeled
• 3 Tablespoons 25g toasted and chopped nuts, optional

Dressing

• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1-2 teaspoons honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and boil until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool, then carefully slice off the kernels.
• Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar. If using a jar, shake to combine thoroughly. If using a bowl, mix thoroughly until the mustard binds everything together.
• Add the salad greens, goat cheese, corn peach and nuts into a large mixing bowl. Serve as is, with dressing on the side, or drizzle the dressing on top and toss to combine.

The post Easy Arugula, Peach, Goat Cheese and Sweet Corn Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

I discovered this recipe on Serious Eats while looking for a panzanella salad recipe last summer. If you haven't had panzenella before, think of it as a savory bread salad! Veggies + a light dressing tossed with crusty bread. By letting it sit for about 30 minutes, the delicious juices soak into the bread and make it *super* delicious.

BUT what makes this version different- you don't need the bread. I've found that the tomato version keeps better since you don't have to worry about the bread getting soggy. Plus, it's more versatile since you can serve it on top of a bunch of things - crusty bread, an omelet, salad, or even savory oats! The possibilities are endless!! I had mine first on an omelet:

Then on polenta! An underrated side in my opinion!

The secret to this salad is salting the tomatoes and letting their juices run out. This makes for the best vinaigrette. Don't skip this part!!

Print

Easy Summer Tomato Salad

A fresh and easy tomato basil salad, inspired by summer ingredients. Make it into panzanella or make it as-is for a grain free dish! Adapted slightly from Serious Eats.

Course Salad, Side

Cuisine American

Keyword Basil, Summer, Tomato

Prep Time 40 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 3 -4 small servings

Author Andrea | French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 pound cherry tomatoes halved or other tomatoes cut into small bites
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 5 Tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 small shallots minced
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard I like more!
• 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup basil leaves chopped

Instructions

• Place tomatoes in a colander set over a bowl and season with the salt. Toss to coat. Set aside at to drain, tossing occasionally. Let them drain for at least 15 minutes (I usually do 30).
• After you're finished draining, remove the tomatoes from the colander and add them to a separate serving bowl. In the small bowl with the tomato juice, add the rest of the dressing ingredients: shallot, garlic, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
• Add the dressing to the tomatoes and stir to combine.
• Keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days!

Bon appétit!

The post Easy Summer Tomato Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

This colorful + super healthy salad came together on a whim, inspired by some roasted veggie leftovers. It was just so good I wanted to share with YOU! It started wtih a craving for greens: Pedro was away for the weekend and I just wanted SALADS and cruciferous things so I bought all the things (kale! arugula! brussels! spinach!). Normally I throw together what I have with a simple balsamic vinaigrette but I wanted to change it up a bit, especially since I wanted to use kale as a base. I settled on a tahini maple dressing that would go well with the earthiness of roasted veggies. I was inspired by a recipe round up of salads on Cookie and Kate!!

I started with greens - a bag of shredded kale + cabbage + brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's. I suppose that's the shortcut way, but you can also chop up your own greens or use normal salad greens. I diced up red pepper and roasted a spiralized sweet potato for mine, but any type of root veggie would be great (carrots and parsnips!). The tahini dressing is so versatile that it will go with a lot of different vegetables!

I topped it off with a little avocado for healthy fats + some blueberries to complement the sweetness of the maple. YUM. I want to eat this all over again.

Is it talking to you like it did to me? Guys, this salad is legit, and I highly recommend you try it ASAP!! Get pre-shredded veggies to make it quicker, or just dice up some kale // cabbage // spinach and make.it.happen. You won't regret it!

Print

Kale, Sweet Potato + Blueberry Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing

A simple kale and raw veggie salad with a creamy maple tahini dressing. Vegan, gluten free and flexible for ingredients you have on hand!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword Maple, Sweet Potato, Tahini

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 2 -3 large or 3-4 smaller servings

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad Dressing

• ¼ cup tahini
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of garlic powder
• 1.5 teaspoons maple syrup
• Salt to taste

Salad Ingredients

• Mixed greens preferably hearty (I used a shredded brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage mix from Trader Joe's)
• ½ of a red bell pepper diced
• 2 cups roasted mixed vegetables sweet potato, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips
• Avocado sliced
• Blueberries strawberries, raspberries or grapes would be great too!

Instructions

• Mix salad dressing ingredients together in a jar or small bowl. Set aside.
• Shred or very finely chop up the salad ingredients if not already done (you can also use regular salad greens but will probably need less dressing). Massage the greens with a few tablespoons of dressing, adding more if necessary. Top with roasted vegetables, fruit and sliced avocado. Drizzle on more dressing. EAT!!

Bon appétit!

The post Kale, Sweet Potato and Blueberry Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

That was the name of a beer we had this weekend at Tupelo Honey Cafe! So delicious. Peach season is in full swing here in VA and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Picking them up at local farmer's markets whenever I can (Courthouse! Foggy Bottom!).

Anyway wanted to share this salad from last weekend, inspired by the market. It highlights some of the season's best produce!

• Sweet corn. YUM. Underrated.
• Peaches. Must be juicy not those sad store bought ones 😂
• Greens. Arugula here.
• Yellow zucchini.

The base of the salad was zucchini that I ribboned using my handy peeler. Then arugula, peaches, and corn on top. I kept the dressing light to let the produce flavors shine through. We had limes laying around so I made a lime vinaigrette, adding in olive oil, honey, a bit of mustard (to hold everything together), salt and pepper. The lime and honey was a perfect complement to the juicy peaches. I loved how well the salad piled up with the zucchini ribbons 🙂

Full recipe below 🙂

Print

Summer Market Salad

An easy summer salad inspired by the farmer's market, topped with a honey lime vinaigrette

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 2 big salads

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

• 2 yellow zucchini
• 1 bunch arugula
• 2 ears fresh sweet corn
• 1 peach sliced

Dressing Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup lime juice about 1 big lime
• ½ teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Shuck the corn in the meantime. Once boiling, add the ears of corn and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Make the dressing: mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar until well combined (the mustard will help keep everything together). Set aside.
• Next, thinly slice, spiralize or ribbon your zucchini. Place on a plate or in a large bowl and top with arugula.
• Once the corn is cool, carefully slice the kernels off the ear into a bowl or onto a cutting board.
• Top the salad with the corn + peaches, then drizzle on the dressing and dig in!!

Notes

You can also marinate the zucchini in the vinaigrette for extra flavor. This works well if your zucchini is thickly sliced.

I hope you are inspired to check out your local produce and make something easy, fresh and delicious this weekend!!

Bon appétit 🙂

The post Summer Market Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

Mr. P and I were in the mood for some lighter things, especially salads. I’ve been lacking salad inspiration lately so we just got a spring mix from Whole Foods to serve as our base. Can't go wrong with light greens and a good dressing. I think as the warmer weather rolls in I’ll be more creative with chopping up raw veggies (cabbage, carrots, peppers, oh my!) and mixing in some fresh, in season fruits. For now, something simple!

I had this awesome Mediterranean spice mix that I wanted to use (thanks, Amy!) because I had been staring at it for a few weeks. You can find it here. This mix was just olive oil and spices, so we slathered this on our cod filets, placed in a glass baking dish and let the oven do the work. We ended up cooking it on 400 for 25 minutes because these guys were pretty thick!

Here’s a pic of the dish…after we took out our dinner portions because I was too excited. End temperature was just around 140 degrees. I highly recommend a meat thermometer – it really helps prevent from overcooking, especially for fish!

Then for the salad I mixed up a quick dressing of lemon, tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper. I ended up adding a little water to thin it out as well. Tossed the lettuce, served with fish and done! Better than my chips + dip dinner the day we got back from vacation.

Hope you can find some inspiration in this simple, healthy and delicious meal. Spices and a good homemade dressing go a long way!

Print

Mediterranean Cod + Salad

A light but flavorful fish + salad meal, perfect for lunch or dinner!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Fish

• 4 cod fillets or other white fish
• 2-3 Tablespoons za'atar mix or a combination of olive oil, sumac, oregano, salt, thyme and sesame seeds

Lemon Tahini Dressing

• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice I like mine citrus-y!
• Splash of water
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of fresh ground pepper

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare the cod by patting the fish dry, then covering the spice mix and placing in a glass baking dish.
• Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish. I took the fish out at 25 minutes when it had reached about 140 degrees F.
• Prepare the dressing my mixing together the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Adjust to taste (you can add more olive oil or tahini to mellow out the lemon if you like it less citrus-y.).
• Toss the salad with the dressing, then serve with the fish!

Notes

The dressing was a generous portion for two. I made more for our lunches the next day, but you could stretch it for 4 small servings as well!

The post Simple Dinner: Mediterranean Cod + Salad appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.