Rania's Recipes: 3 Summer Salads
Summer is officially here and Rania Harris stopped by Pittsburgh Today Live to show off three great summer salad recipes!
Five Bean Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
¾ pound green beans, trimmed and halved and blanched
¾ pound yellow wax beans, trimmed and halved and blanched
1 (14-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium Bermuda onion – thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves
Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
Put the fresh and canned beans, Bermuda onion, bell peppers, Italian parsley, oregano and Sherry Vinaigrette into a large serving bowl, and toss everything together to combine. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
Sherry Vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup Sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 to 3 dashes Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mix together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, hot sauce, salt and black pepper and olive oil in a Bonjour Salad Dressing Mixer. Blend until the dressing has emulsified. Alternatively, you can add the ingredients to food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Spicy Shrimp Salad
1 ½ pounds cooked large shrimp - peeled ~ deveined ~ chopped into large dice
1 red bell pepper - chopped
1 yellow bell pepper - chopped
½ cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon old bay seasoning (or more to taste)
Juice of ½ lemon (or more to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bibb lettuce leaves
Directions:
Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl.
In an another bowl, combine the mayonnaise and old bay seasoning. Add enough lemon juice to taste. Dress the shrimp mixture with the salad dressing and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper
Arrange 1 lettuce leaf on each of 4 small plates. Spoon salad into leaves and serve.
Serves: 4
Roasted Eggplant Salad with Whole Wheat Pita
3 large eggplants
1-cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno chili pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2/3 cup toasted almonds - chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
4 whole-wheat pita bread rounds - cut into 6 wedges each
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick the eggplants with the tines of a fork. Roast them for about 45 minutes or until they are completely cooked and tender. Remove from oven and cool. Cut the eggplant in half and scrape out the pulp. Place the pulp in a food processor and pulse to puree. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, jalapeno and cumin. Pulse quickly to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the puree to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Stir in the toasted chopped almonds and mint. Serve with the pita wedges. Serves 12.
