This salad will surprise you with its many incredible flavors and textures, and how well they all work together. What is equally awesome about it is that once you toss it all together you need no extra dressing, because many of the ingredients are roasted or sautéed in olive oil with seasoning before being added to the salad. It is perfectly dressed without anything extra, therefore better for you, but still bursting with incredible flavor. You will taste a nuttiness from the roasted peas, lentils, and almonds, a saltiness from the shaved parmesan, the perfect amount of meatiness from the shiitake mushrooms and even a creaminess from the avocados. Then there’s the citrus you will get from the added squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I swear it may not look very exciting in my photos but this salad is amazing and so unique! We enjoy having this as a full meal but it would also be tasty as a side dish along with your favorite entrée.
One note I must include is that the lentil-pea product called “Crunchy Mix” that I found and use for this recipe (which I provide a picture of below) may not be something you can find at your local grocery store. Therefore I provide a handful of options that will work equally as well in place of this one group of ingredients. I promise you that whatever you choose to use for this one portion or even if you skip this ingredient altogether, the salad will taste delicious. As always, I encourage you to find your own twists and variations to try as well.
RECIPE TUNES (because everything is always better with music)
Ride Or Die (feat. Foster the People) by The Knocks • Lash Out by Alice Merton • Summer Fever by Little Big Town
INGREDIENTS
- 5 oz package of arugula
- 1 large Vidalia onion
- 6-7 oz of sliced small shiitake mushrooms (Pictured below. I buy 2 3.5 oz packages.)
- 1 large avocado
- 3/4 oz basil (chopped)
- 2 oz of slivered almonds OR any nuts and/or seeds you prefer. (Pine nuts are a great alternative but more pricey. You can also use sunflower seeds or any other seeds/things of that sort.)
- 1/2 cup large shavings of parmesan (photo is below for reference). The drier this parmesan is the easier it will crumble into your salad which I prefer because it adds a great saltiness but the better it crumbles the less you need to disperse it throughout the salad.
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
- 6 oz package of “Crunchy Mix” (Photo of the exact thing I buy is at the bottom of the recipe along with a photo of the section I find it in at my store. If you are not sure where to find it show this picture to someone in produce and see if they can help find it or something similar.)
OR in place of the “Crunch Mix” 6 oz of any combination of the following:
FRESH lentils, peas, adzuki, black-eyed peas or any other item similar to these that you can buy in the refrigerator/produce section at your grocery/health food store or in the actual salad bar where you purchase items by weight. (Stores such as Whole Foods may have them there.) DO NOT buy the hard, dry beans/peas in bags or in bulk that need to be cooked/softened before using. Fresh ones or the ones at the salad bar can be eaten as is. - Small bowl of kosher salt and black pepper combined to season things throughout. (Guessing you need about 2 TBSP salt mixed with 1 TPSP pepper but you may or may not use it all. I use it by pinching a large amount when steps call to add salt/ppr.)
LETS COOK!
- Cut your Vidalia onion up into bigger pieces (about 1 inch by 1 inch in size). Put this in a bowl and drizzle some of your olive oil over to coat your onions. Add a big pinch of salt/pepper to season them and mix the onions with the oil and salt/ppr.
- On medium heat, cook your onions until almost translucent.
- Add your shiitake mushrooms into your pan with your onions and stir well. Cover and cook together a few minutes until mushrooms cook through. Taste and if you need slightly more salt/ppr add it now. Set the onion/mushroom mixture aside to cool.
- Put your “Crunchy Mix” or your beans, lentils, seeds and nuts into a small bowl and as you did with the onion, drizzle some olive oil over them, add a pinch of salt/ppr and stir everything together well.
- Place this mixture onto a foil-lined baking sheet and place under your broiler for 4-6 minutes, enough to get golden but not burn. (Pics below of before and after broiling them.) Broiling these brings out the flavor so nicely and adds both nuttiness and the perfect crunch. Set these aside to cool along with your onions/mushrooms.
- Place your arugula into a large bowl that will be easy to toss things in. Add in your toasted and now cooled “Crunchy Mix” (or your beans. lentils, seeds and nuts.) Make sure they are not warm or your arugula will wilt.
- Add in your onions and mushrooms. (Make sure they are not warm or your arugula will wilt.)
- Squeeze half of a lemon on top of everything.
- Crumble a handful of parmesan cheese on top of the entire salad.
- Finely chop up your basil and add that to the salad.
- Toss everything together very well and taste. If you need a little more olive oil, more salt/ppr or prefer more parmesan for saltiness, or more lemon for acidity add it now.
- Finally cut your avocado into cubes (as seen here in picture) and scoop it out into your salad. You can either toss it in or serve the salad with the avocado on top. You can also top your salad with extra parmesan for presentation if you want but keep in mind it will add saltiness.
- Your salad is ready to serve. YUM!
ENJOY!
INGREDIENT VISUALS
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