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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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 🙂

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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!!

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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.

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 🙂

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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.

In the latest series of cleaning out the freezer, I targeted blackberries for use for a salad dressing. I saw a recipe posted by Purely Elizabeth over on Instagram and was inspired by how simple it was! Just fresh berries + balsamic vinegar + olive oil.

I found all these greens and the cucumbers at the local farmer’s market in Courthouse (go if you’re nearby! Similar vendors at the Sunday one in Dupont). Pedro and I picked out weekend – baby curly kale, pea shoots and butter lettuce! All looked so pretty and I just couldn’t resist trying them all. Hooray for new things!

I diced up the greens for lunch, after a brief period of admiration, then whipped up the dressing - I did about equal parts of oil, vinegar, and berries, pureed it all and added a little salt and pepper.

Mint on top.

I wanted to add some protein to the salad and we had some leftover chicken so I decided to pan fry it in a little coconut oil and coconut flour. We were out of eggs so I skipped the dipping step and just dipped the chicken in a coconut flour // salt // pepper combo. I think almond flour or bread crumbs would work well too! I threw this in a nonstick pan for a few minutes until browned, flipped and cooked through until finished (temperature, about 165 degrees – used my thermometer!). This was super fast since the breasts were small.  Toasted walnuts on the side. No picture here but you can se the finished produck!

Next I just layered this all up and drizzled on more dressing. Fresh, light and paleo friendly 😊

I’d definitely save leftovers for a work lunch – just keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to eat!

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Blackberry Balsamic Chicken Salad

This flavorful salad is perfect for a work lunch or a light summer meal! You can add to the salad with what you have on hand - the dressing is what makes it though!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 small or 2 big servings

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad

• 4-6 cups mixed greens
• 1 small cucumber diced
• 1 small handful blueberries or blackberries
• Nuts optional
• Fresh mint roughly torn

Dressing

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup blackberries defrosted if frozen
• Dash of salt
• Dash of fresh ground pepper

Battered Chicken

• 4-5 thin chicken breasts or chicken tenders
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• Salt to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Coconut oil or other neutral oil for cooking

Instructions

• Roughly chop the greens into bite size pieces and add to a large salad bowl with mint and cucumber.
• Combine all the dressing ingredients and puree until smooth in a blender or Ninja. Set aside.
• Heat a pan to medium heat for pan frying the chicken. When pan is warm, add a bit of coconut oil (I didn't need much because I used a non-stick).
• Combine the coconut flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or dish and stir to combine a bit. Dip the chicken into the mixture, then place in the pan to cook. Sear on each side about 5 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken) or until temperature reaches about 165 degrees F.
• Toss the greens with the dressing, then top with the berries and nuts if using and more dressing.

Notes

Extra dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days in a sealed container (I used a jar). It was also great with fish!

Bon appetit!

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