Summer In A Bowl – Vegetable Salad With Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

If I have to name the favourite recipe of the year (so far, that is), then this would be it. I can’t remember how many times I have made this, but I still can’t get enough of this vegetable salad. Regardless of whether served as a side, or on its own, it tastes just great.

It all started when I resolved that I was not venturous enough with respect to mustards. In the past, I slowly (read it ‘very slowly’) acquired a taste for Dijon mustard. A tsp or two in vinaigrettes, tarts, or cream sauces, is how got used to that funky flavour. When I was browsing the store shelves for a different kind, the whole grain kind caught my eyes. The yellow and brown seeds were, how to say, interesting.

I was itching to make use of it, but wasn’t sure where to start. You cannot go wrong with a simple lemon vinaigrette, and that was where I started. Pure bliss, I should say. The crunchy texture was exactly what I was looking for. I made, and remade the dressing and improvised it to the level, that now I am totally satisfied.

With a fridge brimming with produce, I used whatever I could lay my hands on and came up with this recipe. Feel free to use your favourite vegetables, but do try the dressing. Its my absolute favourite!

Summer Vegetable Salad
(serves 2)

Ingredients

Yellow and/or green beans – 8 oz, about 2 handfuls
Asparagus – 4 oz
Baby potatoes – about 15
Bell peppers – 2, red, orange or yellow
Tomatoes – 2, large

Lemon-Whole Grain Mustard Dressing

Zest and juice of a large, organic* lemon
Whole grain mustard – 1½ tsp
Garlic – 1 clove, smashed and minced
Red wine vinegar – a splash
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Parsley – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Dried oregano – 1 tsp
Red pepper flakes – 2 tsp
Salt

*use pesticide-free citrus if using the zest

Method

Scrub and wash the potatoes. Cut away any black spots. Cut the bigger ones into half. Trim off the green and yellow beans where it attaches to the plant. Cut into 2 inch pieces. Similarly snap the asparagus where it turns woodsy, cut into 2 inch pieces. For a fancy look cut the beans and asparagus at an angle.

In a large bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking all the ingredients mentioned above. Set aside.

Heat 5 cups of water in a wide sauce pan. Bring to a brisk boil, and salt generously. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes or until it is fork tender. Strain with a slotted spoon, and add to the dressing. To the same water, add the beans and let it blanch for 3 minutes. Add asparagus along with the beans and blanch for additional 3 minutes. Drain both and add to the potatoes and dressing.

Core and quarter the bell peppers. If the sauce pan is wider, use it for searing bell peppers as well, like I always do. Otherwise, heat a skillet over high flame, spray with olive oil, and sear the peppers on high heat for about 3 minutes. Once they have blistered spots, sprinkle some salt, remove and let cool. When they are cool enough to handle, cut into ¼ inch wide strips and add to the salad bowl. Quarter the tomatoes, remove the seeds as they make the salad watery. Cut them as thick as bell peppers and add to the rest of the ingredients. Toss everything together until the dressing is evenly coated.

The salad tastes great warm or at room temperature. Serve with soup, quiche, or even pizza. Goes well with almost anything. Or make a light meal by serving with a chunk of crusty bread.

This bowl that screams summer, goes to Sia of Monsoon Spice who is hosting WBB–Summer Feast. WBB is Nandita’s brainchild.

Edited to Add: I am also sending this to Healthy Cooking, hosted by Mansi, Fun and Food.

35 comments:

amna said...

i cant see the pics :( and thts what i came for :(

amna said...

i can see them now :) very summer-y :D

sunita said...

Beautiful...I am a fan of honey mustard vinaigrette :-)

Shreya said...

Amazing pictures! Wonderful recipe, the dressing is the best part..though we don't use olive oil, I can feel the flavor of those ingredients together...

Shammi said...

That dressing looks verrrrry interesting. I have a 2-3 kinds of mustard (unopened) in my pantry and this should be the perfect occasion to try out at least one of them! :)

Srivalli said...

wow..lovely picture as usual!...:)

Raaga said...

I have something very similar coming up at my blog... not as adventurous... and definitely not as pretty :-)

A_and_N said...

I love anything with lemon! And this is so healthy too :) Will surely try this.

evolvingtastes said...

Oooh gorgeous - this is making me so hungry! I surely want to try the salad. Sugs, I bet this would taste great with roasted veggies too.

KALVA said...

Wow what a burst of colours.. Its all about summer right.. lovely dear

Sangeeth said...

seriuosly... tell me how to take t he pics...u r too proffesional dear....ur pics makes ppl come to c ur blog and iam a great fan of ur pics...i know nags is too...

bee said...

make your own dijon. it's ten times better than store-bought and sooo easy. there's a recipe on our site for homemade mustard.

i love this vinaigrette on brussels sprouts.

Pooja said...

Such a nice plate .perfect summer salad , thank for sharing the recipe for this :)

Pavani said...

Salad looks delicious. Dressing sounds yummy.. Never tried whole grain mustard.. Thanks for sharing.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Salad looks wonderful..

Lisa Turner said...

Gorgeous photos as usual. I really enjoy mustard vinaigrette. This is a perfect summer salad.

Mansi said...

its always a pleasure to see your beautiful creations Suganya! this looks healthy and yummy! care to send it for my healthy cooking event? this salad so fit the theme!:)

Anonymous said...

Perfect and colorful Salad.

I agree that it takes time to get used to the taste. Mustard overpowers every other thing in a recipe.

Anonymous said...

Your pictures are just amazing! I am not a big fan of mustard, but the salad looks so good that I might just try it. :)

Sig said...

Gorgeous salad, love mustard in vinaigrettes... but I too don't use mustard as much as I should...

Anonymous said...

beautiful...

Peabody said...

That really is Summer in a bowl. Lovely.

Anonymous said...

The salad looks yummy! Very fresh and delicious.

Anonymous said...

OMG, I can't see the pics! why? do I need to clear out my cache?

Vaishali said...

How delicious, Suganya. Baby potatoes and green beans- heaven to me!

Tee said...

I am absolutely loving this salad and especially the dressing! I like mustard in my dressing but haven't tried red wine vinegar before. Usually , i just whip up an olive oil + dijon mustard + lemon + honey vinaigrette.

Chef Jeena said...

Wonderful healthy and colourful recipe. :-)

Namratha said...

I always stop by to look at your pictures and I am never disappointed :)

Laavanya said...

I'm not a very salad-person but this looks like something I'd love....

Padma said...

These days I am totally into salads as the summer is here and brings all the colorful veggies. I am not a big fan of mustard, but should incorporate more in my cooking. Salad looks great... and

hey I am back to blogging!

Kana said...

This salad looks delicious nutritious ( and I really like mustard!)

Susan said...

It's amazing how transformed mustard seeds are depending on their preparation; you wouldn't know they are the base of a tadka as well as the Western vinegar condiment.

Such rich colors!

Archana Doshi said...

Lovely, I love honey mustard vinaigrette:). BTW, I am hosting a ONE DISH MEAL_ SALAD event. It would like to invite you to send this or one of the recipes over or cook up something fresh for the event. Would love to see something from you. Check the rules for the event in my site.

Veda said...

awesome awesome awesome!!!!photos on ur blog drive me crazy....just so pretty!!!!and u have some wonderful recipes too!

Jeanne said...

Wow - that looks astonishingly good! It's amazing how a good vinaigrette can lift a dish. Wholegrain is my absolute favourite.

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