Rocket Lettuce Salad

When Mother's Day rolled around this year, my mom decided she wanted to have a cookout at her house with my brother and myself. It being Mother's Day and all, my brother and I decided to divide and conquer on preparing the food. My mom was always good about preparing well balanced meals for us growing up, so we'd always have a protein, veggie, a starch, and salad, and we adhere by that today when preparing holiday meals. Naturally, my brother was in charge of the meat (spinach stuffed roast encrusted with spicy horseradish cheese - he's such a good cook!), and the veggie as well (marinated Portobello mushrooms), and I was in charge of the starch (tortellini cheese bake), dessert (orange poppy seed cake), and the salad. I figured I would use this opportunity to do a blog post on one of these dishes and I chose the salad.

 

This recipe was inspired by two recipes I found on Pinterest. One was a grilled veggie salad, and the other was a grilled citrus salad. I decided to combine the basic ideas into one salad and voila! This recipe was born!

 

I'm in love with arugula right now. It is so fantastic. It's spicy, fresh tasting, and good for you. What more can you ask out of a lettuce?! Rachael Ray would tell you that the name "arugula" actually means "rocket lettuce" in Italian, and it was given that name due to its spicy flavor. Interesting, right? Because I love arugula so much, I decided it would be the most appropriate base for this salad. The orange, zucchini, almonds, and dressing complement it so well, I think you're really going to dig it.

 

A few notes: If you don't have a gas or charcoal grill, no problem. The first time I made this salad, I made it at home on my stovetop grill pan and it was just as delish. I was at my mom's house when making it this time, and she's lucky enough to have an outdoor grill, so I made use of it.

 

This is an arranged salad, so you will notice that all of the ingredients are layered on top of each other instead of being tossed together. If you prefer to toss, go right ahead! It won't ruin the flavor, it would only enhance it.

 

Lastly, I forgot my DSLR at home, so I was forced to use my point and shoot camera to take these photos. Please forgive the picture quality in this post.

 

Alright, let's get cookin'!

 

Arugula Salad with Grilled Zucchini & Citrus

 

Ingredients:

 

Salad

1/2 zucchini

1 naval orange, peeled

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Pinch each of salt & pepper

3 tablespoons slivered almonds

3 cups baby arugula

3 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

 

Dressing

1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons EVOO

Juice of 1/2 lemon

 

Preheat your grill to medium heat.

 

To begin, stand your zucchini on end and cut down length-wise into thin slices, like this: 

 Continue until you have sliced through the entire thing.

Place the zucchini strips on a dish and drizzle with one tablespoon of EVOO.

Next, cut your peeled orange into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place the rounds on a plate and drizzle with one tablespoon EVOO. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Lay all of your fruit & veggie slices on your preheated grill. Flip them over after about two-three minutes.

Remove your fruit & veggies from the grill and place them on a clean plate.

Next, you're going to start toasting your almonds. Place the almonds in a pan over medium low heat. 

Let them cook while you arrange the rest of your salad, turning them over in the pan every minute or so. You don't want them to burn!

 

To arrange your salad, start with the arugula. Spread the baby leaves on your serving platter.

Next, add the zucchini strips. Make sure they are somewhat evenly distributed over the lettuce.

Add your orange rounds down the center of the salad, on top of the zuchinni.

Next, sprinkle the feta cheese over the entire salad.

Your almonds are probably nice and toasted by this point. They should have some nice color to them.

Remove the almonds from the heat and sprinkle them over your salad.

Last, make your dressing. Add the Dijon mustard and lemon juice to a small bowl. With one hand, slowly drizzle in the EVOO and with the other hand, whisk the concoction with a fork, until you have a combined dressing consistency.

Pour the dressing over the entire salad.

 

Serve immediately. Salute!