balsamic vinaigrette | Little Miss Sunshine State

This salad is one of my favorites. I make it frequently for parties or get togethers because its usually a hit and always has that “wow-factor” because its so attractive. The traditional Italian version does not call for arugula (roquette lettuce) but, I LOVE arugula for its unique kick and sneak it into recipes whenever I can. Plus, it extends the salad a little bit so you get more bang for your buck 🙂 Here’s how I make it.

Ingredients:

2 ripe tomatoes (I use Big Boy or heirloom varieties)
log of fresh mozzarella
pack of fresh basil
arugula
olive oil
balsamic vinaigre
salt
pepper

Directions:

: 1. Place a layer of arugula on your serving dish.

: 2. Slice tomatoes and layer decoratively on top of the arugula

: 3. Slice fresh mozzarella same width as tomatoes and place between tomato slices

: 4. Wash and layer basil leaves like a deck of cards

: 5. Roll the stack into what looks like a “cigar”

: 6. Using a sharp knife, slice into fine strips.

: 7. Sprinkle the basil on top and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper

Here is another one I made for a recent girl’s night at my place

Ok, so now lets talk about the health benefits:

Tomatoes are insanely high in Vitamins A and C as well as lycopene and anti-oxidants.
Basil is rich in beta-carotenes and anti-oxidants.
Mozzarella is high in calcium and fat-soluble vitamins A, C and E.
Arugula is very rich in vitamin K, C and A
Olive oil is a non-saturated fat that has all kinds of health benefits.

So, eat up and enjoy! Its not only good, its good for you.

After I came home today, I was starving and wanted to put something yummy together quick. Good thing I recently bought groceries and had fresh produce in the fridge so I was able to whip up this awesome little go-to salad for dinner. Its my version of nicoise salad. This traditional French salad has only a few simple ingredients:

Ingredients:

lettuce- I use romaine and sometimes mix it with arugula (roquette lettuce)
tomatoes- I prefer grape tomatoes or mini plum tomatos
steamed green beans- “steam in the bag” packages are ideal for this
black olives
boiled eggs
tuna- you can use canned or fresh but this can be eliminated all together because you have enough protein with the boiled eggs.
boiled potatoes- I always omit this. The salad if filing enough without it.

Directions:

Put 2 eggs in a pot of water and bring to a boil. The minute the water begins to boil, set your timer for 8 minutes. In the mean time….
On a plate, put a layer of your lettuce of choice as the base of your salad. Simply place the remainder of the ingredients in sections on top (think, cobb salad)
Make your dressing. Here’s how I make my favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette

: In a small plastic container or jar, place about a tbsp of mustard

: pour desired amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as salt and pepper to taste

: close of the container and shake it like a polaroid picture… voila!

4. When the timer goes off, peel the eggs and place on top of the salad. See how the yolks are super yellow and don’t have that yucky green/ gray ring around them?! That’s ’cause you didn’t over boil them! No more than 8 minutes for the perfect boiled egg.

5. Drizzle dressing and sprinkle some cayenne pepper if you’d like (and I always like.)

Basically, you just made dinner in the time it took to boil those eggs… Enjoy!!

This is another nicoise salad I made myself a while back. With this one, I included fresh tuna. It tasted amazing but it was kind of protein over-load with the eggs. Plus, it was very expensive…. food for though 🙂

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Tag Archives: balsamic vinaigrette

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Nicoise Salad: Dinner in 10 minutes flat

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