Grilled Garden Salad
Happy Thursday, friends! After seeing Ashley's visit to Morningside Farm and many of us receiving these beautiful heads of organic lettuce in our boxes this week, I knew we should make a garden salad. There is nothing imperfect about this organic lettuce! I'm thankful that a local farm had a surplus and we were happy to take it off of their hands! We hope you love this local treat just as much as we do!
With the gorgeous summer weather, grilling veggies seems to come pretty naturally these days. I used the asparagus, grape tomatoes and lemons on the grill to make this Grilled Garden Salad. Grilled lemons caramelize and sweeten, making an awesome substitute for vinegar in a salad dressing. Try it out and lettuce (ha!) know what you think!
Grilled Garden Salad Serves 2-4. Ingredients 1 head Perfectly Imperfect lettuce 1 bundle Perfectly Imperfect asparagus 1 container Perfectly Imperfect grape tomatoes 1 Perfectly Imperfect lemon 3 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. fresh basil or parsley, chopped 2-3 Tbsp. crumbled cheese, either goat, feta or parmesan salt and pepper to taste
Directions 1. Cut core from lettuce head and rinse leaves, laying them out on a towel to dry. This just ensures that some of the garden doesn't make it into your salad! 2. While your grill is heating, cut the bottom inch or two off of the asparagus-this woody stem isn't texturally great. Halve the lemon. Place asparagus spears, halved lemon, and the tomatoes on the grill, turning everything after 2 minutes. You're just looking for char marks, you still want some crunch to the veggies. If you don't have a grill, you can broil the veggies on high for 5 minutes, until a nice color appears. 3. Remove veggies from the grill and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. When the lemons are cool enough to touch, squeeze them into a small bowl, you want every last bit of juice, but remove the seeds! Whisk in the olive oil, fresh herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. 4. You can arrange these salads into smaller, individual servings, or pile them high in a large bowl family style. Layer the lettuce, add grilled asparagus, tomatoes, the vinaigrette, and sprinkle the top with your cheese of choice. Dig in!
Like eating farm to table? Mission accomplished!
As always, we LOVE seeing your beautiful weekly creations, so please keep tagging us on Instagram, @perfectlyimperfectproduce. We always share customer creations on our story on Sundays. Thanks for another great week, hope you enjoy!
