School may be starting up again, but this salad keeps summer on the table! Head to the farmer's market for some late-season produce and have your budding chef toss everything together. The secret ingredient? Crunchy homemade croutons!
Crunchy Market Salad
Serves 4-6 as a main dish or 6-8 as a sidePrep Time: 20 minutesCook Time: 5-10 minutesTotal time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
Salad
4 cups mixed greens
½ cup rainbow peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup heirloom tomatoes, cut into chunks
¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
¼ cup scallions
Croutons
3 cups day old bread, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Instructions:
Combine greens, peppers, tomatoes, parsley, scallions, and whatever other veggies strike your fancy in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Make the croutons! Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add a few Tbsp of olive oil, and coat the bottom of the pan. Add the bread cubes and toss continuously until the cubes are golden brown and toasted, about 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Make the dressing! Whisk the garlic, salt, thyme, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl until blended.
Put it all together! Toss the croutons with the veggies and greens, pour over the dressing, then toss again gently.
Serve it up!
Recipe Notes:
Just about any veggie you can think of would be a welcome addition to this crunchy salad!
There are endless other little lessons that I hope my children pick up on through gardening. I'm looking forward to the ones they point out to me someday.
From the beginning, our interactions with our children are teaching them how to express their wants and needs to eventually become independent human beings.
ParentCo.
Author