The Crafty Cuisine Quartet: “The May Salad”
May 16, 2019
A salad that is not only flavorful but pretty to look at is just what everyone needs this summer! Our dish “The May Salad” has everything a person needs for a quick but healthy lunch. From the arugula and honey lemon dressing to the avocado and nuts, you won’t be lacking in the variety or flavor profile. This salad is sweet, savory, and gives a mouthwatering sour kick that makes your tongue burst (in a good way!). Although we did incorporate chicken for some extra protein, this salad can easily be made a vegetarian dish with alternatives and still taste just as palatable.
The May Salad (serves 5-6)
Ingredients:
Salad portion:
- 1 Whole Rotisserie Chicken- cleaned, with skin removed, and finely diced
- 5 Cups of organic baby arugula- tossed and fluffed to create a full appearance
- 2 cups of strawberries- washed and thinly sliced
- 1 Whole avocado- pitted and diced into small bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup of walnuts- thinly chopped and scattered among the top of our salad
- 1/2 Feta cheese- scattered and slightly broken down into small crumbles
Dressing:
- 1 Whole lemon- squeezed to utilize the juice only, no pulp or peel used
- 1/2 olive oil
- 2/3 cup of honey
- 1 tsp. ground dill
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
- Start with the baby arugula for the base of the salad. Take the arugula and loosely separate it to arrange it in the bowl and get it out of its compact packaging.
- After rinsing the strawberries, thinly slice the succulent fruit and scatter them carefully among the arugula.
- Following the strawberries, now it’s time to pull any part of the meat from the rotisserie chicken, chop it, and toss them in the arugula. (All skin from the chicken should be gently removed before dicing.)
- Next, take the avocado and separate it to remove the seed. Once the seed is removed, take a pairing knife and make slits into each avocado halves and spoon out the chopped pieces.
- After the avocado is chopped and arranged into the salad with the strawberries and chicken, take the walnuts and give them a rough chop until they are bite sized pieces. Next you’ll want to arrange them into the bowl, lightly drizzling them over the colorful salad mixture.
- For the dressing, take the lemon and cut it into halves. Juice each half into a bowl, avoid using the pulp, peel, or seeds. From there, add the olive oil and honey and whisk together until finely mixed together.
- Once the liquid portion of the dressing is mixed thoroughly, add the ground dill, salt, and pepper and mix together.
- Take the prepared dressing and pour about 1/4 a cup over the salad just enough to dress it not drench it. Store any extra dressing in the refrigerator for later use.
- Toss the salad and dressing in a bowl and once the two are paired perfectly, top the salad and sprinkle with feta cheese.
- Salad is best served immediately. Store any extra salad in the refrigerator.
Ratings:
- Taste: 10- We felt the overall pairing of ingredients that we chose for this salad went perfectly together.
- Mouthfeel/Consistency: 9- The taste was there, the only thing that made it difficult was trying to make sure you got every single ingredient into one bite. Overall though it had the right consistency between a crunchy texture and with the smooth texture from the feta and avocado.
- Smell: 10- The smell from the dressing and the emphasis from the lemon and honey reflecting onto the fruit and chicken gave a very appealing aroma.
- Visual Appeal: 10- The salad was almost to0 pretty to eat. The red from the strawberries paired with the bright greens and accents of white feta made the salad very attractive.
- Creativity: 10- A salad is a typical pairing with really any dish but our salad had enough to make it not only a meal but the thought process that went behind each item and making sure they complimented each other but also gave a different take on something other than just a plain salad was apparent. It also played in on the creativity factor due to the versatility the salad brings for carnivores or vegetarians.