This hearty, versatile salad is Simone McIsaac’s go-to when the greens are popping in prime growing season. It features Rootdown Organic Farm’s seasonal salad mix — with up to 14 varieties of lettuces and brassicas in each ⅓-pound bag — and other fresh produce from the Sea to Sky Corridor. This midsummer salad dream feeds three or four people as a side or, as McIsaac says, “one hungry farmer on lunch break.” —B.S.
NOTE: Make sure grain is fully cooled; warm grain will wilt the greens.
Serves 4
Time: 30 minutes
Dressing
⅔ cup balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
5 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salad
1 small bag (⅓ pound) Rootdown salad mix
1 cup grain (brown rice, quinoa, farro or similar), cooked and cooled
½ cup chickpeas, cooked or canned
⅓ small red onion, finely sliced
⅓ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
¼ cup roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Suggested seasonal additions
- April: Pea shoot microgreens and finely sliced red cabbage
- June: Sliced radish and hakurei (salad) turnip
- July: Chopped sugar snap peas and carrot (as appears in photo)
- September: Roasted squash or beets, cooled and chopped
- November: Chopped green kale, green cabbage and mini colourful daikon, thinly sliced
Combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and Dijon mustard in a jar and shake until emulsified. This makes more than you’ll need for one salad; refrigerate the rest to use throughout the week.