Crunch Salad

It took me a long time to accept that a salad did not need to contain some form of lettuce, and this was a real game-changer for me in terms of dinner salads.

I make some version of this every single week during the summer weeks, and the freshness and crunch factor are definitely real contributors to how much I enjoy every single version of this. The beans are a must because this is a dinner salad so you want to be satiated once you have eaten it.

There really isn't a recipe for this because it is so dependent on what is available seasonally and came in my veggie box or caught my eye at the farmers' market, but there is a baseline recipe as outlined below.

Place a tablespoon or so of your favorite dressing in the bottom of your serving bowl.

Add in a third of a can of your favorite beans. Stir to combine with the dressing and let marinate while you chop and prep the rest of the vegetables.

Chop a variety of seasonal vegetables into bite-sized pieces. A few of them must be crunchy as you will feel fuller longer and the salad will be more interesting. In the salad above, I used celery and cucumber for the crunch, and added zucchini and tomato to the mix. Stir to combine with the beans and dressing.

Then, add in whatever allium or herb you have on hand. In this particular salad, I used finely chopped shallot and dill, but there are so many options!

This sounds simple yet is curiously satisfying.