I had to get this post out to you all today because I’m totally crushing on this salad wanted to share it with you all ASAP! See, I’m thinking of you guys all of the time, really, and I was thinking about how much you would all love this salad! I think this could be one of my new favorite salads! It’s one of those salads that’s chock-full of texture, crunch and has an abundance of fresh and nutty flavor. It’s also loaded with healthy goodness, as it contains fresh seasonal veggies, garbanzo beans for protein, some healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil) and has a combination both Omega 6 and Omega 3, which we all need more of.
I made this up for dinner last night and the kids and I were licking our plates clean, seriously, I’m not lying! See, Eli really loved this salad!
Zoe loved it so much that she asked if I could make a fresh one up for her lunch today! Well, of course I can sweetie! What can I say, this salad is chock-full of flavor from the lemon, champagne vinegar and pine nut dressing. It’s got a great crunchy texture (which I love in a salad) from the pine nuts, raw sunflower seeds and hemp seeds (which by the way, are one of my new favorite things).
This dressing is super versatile. You can pretty much pair it with just about any green. I’m going to try massaging it on some kale next. As far as salads go, you can make this salad your own by using your favorite seasonal greens and raw veggies.
shaved zucchini and arugula salad with pine nut lemon dressing:
serves 4
recipe adapted from At home in the Whole Food Kitchen
pine nut and lemon dressing:
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, plus 2 tablespoons for the salad, toasted
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 scallion, white part only, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
- 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salad:
- 4 small or medium zucchini, the amount you use here really depends on how much zucchini you want in your salad, I used 4, but you may want to use more or less
- Bunch of arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup garbanzo beans
- 1 bunch chives, chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- hemp seed – optional and to taste – I love this brand Nutiva
- raw sprouted sunflower seeds – optional and to taste – I love this brand Go Raw
Let’s toast up those pine-nuts. Warm a small dry skillet over medium heat. You don’t need to add oil when toasting nuts, as they have their own natural oils. Add the pine nuts and toast, stirring constantly until they are lightly browned and fragrant (about 2 minutes).
Remove the pine nuts from the heat and place them on a plate to cool.
Wash and trim the ends of the zucchini. Using either a vegetable peeler (that’s what I used), mandoline or spiralizer, shave the zucchini into long thin strips.
Zucchini can be difficult to digest (feeling bloated) due to its high water content, (zucchini is 95% water) so the best way to draw out the excess water is to salt the zucchini.
Put the shaved zucchini into a colander, sprinkle it with a bit of kosher salt (you can use sea salt, but kosher salt works best) over the zucchini and toss to combine. Let the zucchini sit in the colander while you make the dressing and get the rest of the salad pulled together.
Here’s a photo of the zucchini after it sat in the colander for 15 minutes. You can see how much it reduced down in size and all of the water that was extracted.
Let’s make the dressing! Take 1/4 cup of the toasted pine nuts and place them either a small upright blender or mini prep. Roughly chop, or keep whole the remaining 2 tablespoons, and set aside for the salad.
I used both my mini prep and blender and found that my mini prep was easier and combined the dressing better. My blender was too big, and therefore the dressing didn’t blend properly.
Add in the garlic clove, chopped scallion, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and the pinch of pepper.
Pulse to combine the ingredients. You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. You can see how chunky the mixture is.
Add in the 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. If you’re using a mini prep, then just add it and blend away, but if you’re using a blender then you can slowly add it as the motor is running on low.
Blend until the all of the ingredients are combined and the dressing is thick and creamy. Transfer the dressing to a glass jar until ready to use.
Make ahead: The dressing can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow the dressing to come to room temp before using, and mix it up well before using.
Let’s assemble the salad. Get out a large salad bowl and add in the arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, shaved zucchini, avocado, chopped chives and the reserved pine nuts.
Pour a bit of the dressing over the salad and lightly toss to combine, add more dressing as needed to taste. You may not use all of the dressing depending on how much salad you’re serving up.
Add to taste the hemp seeds and sunflower seeds. We really love the nutty flavor and texture these two give the salad, so we tend to add an ample amount.
Like I said earlier, this dressing is super versatile as well as the salad itself! I hope you all love this salad as much as the kids and I, and that it becomes a staple in your house!
