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Mediterranean Salad

By Emily Smith

We got this gorgeous salad bowl setas a wedding gift and let me tell you, it inspires me to fill it with beautiful, colorful food. On Friday, I was walking through the produce aisle and saw a bright bunch of radishes that looked too delicious to pass up.  Along with them, I picked up a pint of fresh cherry tomatoes, an english cucumber, and a nice bunch of oregano. This will make a salad, I said to myself.

I had an old magazine recipe that I went in search for, because I thought the ingredients I had picked up were similar to those in it.  Turns out, they called for red onions, green beans, black olives, tuna, couscous…and well, none of the ingredients that I had on hand after all! But, I did like the idea of including grains and tuna. I can’t actually use couscous, because it’s not gluten-free – so I used long grain italian rice instead. And I don’t much care for tuna, however I do like pink salmon and happened to have a tin in the fridge. So my mediterranean style salad was a go.

First, I got the rice going, then I grilled the tomatoes in olive oil, with two cloves of garlic and a few fresh oregano leaves. Next, I washed and prepared all of the vegetables, drained the salmon, and made the vinaigrette. Preparation time is twenty minutes and voilà, the salad is ready to eat. Talk about a time saver dinner.

I served the salad with a side of sautéed mushrooms and a tall glass of lemon water. We felt so healthy,
refreshed, and energized after our meal!  I’m looking forward to having this for dinner again soon.

















I would love to hear your salad ideas too! Leave me a note and have a lovely week.


Mediterranean Salad
Serves 4 as starters or 2 main course


4 cups of salad mix (baby arugula, baby spinach, red tip lettuce leaf)

1/2 a large english cucumber
2 radishes
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, to be grilled
1 tin of pink salmon, drained
1 cup of cooked long grain italian rice
Oregano leaves, I used a stem’s worth
6-8 marinated artichoke hearts 
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper

Vinaigrette

1/4 cup virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1  tsp of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper (just a touch)

  1. Prepare long grain italian rice, as per directions on the package (aprox. 18-25 minutes).
  2. While rice is cooking, grill tomatoes. In a grilling pan, on medium-high heat, pour olive oil, add halved tomatoes, and garlic cloves. Grill for about 8 minutes. Set rice and tomatoes aside.
  3. Wash and prepare all the vegetables.
  4. Place salad mix in bottom of salad bowl, layer with rice, cucumbers, salmon, artichokes, radishes, tomatoes, and sprinkle with fresh oregano leaves.
  5. Pour vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently before serving.
  6. Enjoy!

p.s Thank you Christine for our salad serving set, we love it!

Posted in Gluten-Free, Mediterranean Salad, Salad | 13 comments »

13 Comments on Mediterranean Salad

  3. tinajo
    March 5, 2012 at 3:16 pm (470 days ago)

    That looks just perfect – YUM! :-)

  4. Jessica Lafrance
    March 5, 2012 at 3:50 pm (470 days ago)

    Healthy never looked so delicious. I’m wishing I had that salad for lunch today.

  5. Anna @ IHOD
    March 5, 2012 at 3:58 pm (470 days ago)

    Amazing.
    I am adding this to my meal plan for next week!
    Happy monday!
    anna

  6. younaturally.net
    March 5, 2012 at 5:39 pm (470 days ago)

    AMAZING!!! love this recipe, so inspiring! Thanks so much for this!!!

    T

  7. Bonnie
    March 6, 2012 at 2:06 am (470 days ago)

    Looks delicious! I love your photographs. What I like to add to my salads is corn and eggs, it’s really tasty.

  8. Kimberley - Dream. Delight. Inspire.
    March 6, 2012 at 3:57 am (470 days ago)

    Gosh, that looks absolutely amazing. I love finding new delicious salad recipes and this one if definitely going on the To Try list! :)

  9. Jess
    March 6, 2012 at 4:47 am (470 days ago)

    Oh wow, this looks amazing! I will have to bookmark this and try it sometime! And thanks for all the sweet comments on my blog!!!

  10. momto8
    March 6, 2012 at 2:13 pm (469 days ago)

    this looks fabulous!! the vinaigrette is interesting to me..i have never used
    white basalmic vinegar…I am making spring salad as a side tonight and getting groceries this afternoon…i am going to look for this vinegar….I use vinegar as a staple in so many of my recipes!!
    Happy Tuesday!

  11. stringsandbuttons
    March 6, 2012 at 4:13 pm (469 days ago)

    As always Emily, this looks DELISH! My God, it’s mouth-watering. Also wanted to say that the bag you just won is gorgeous! Makes me want to participate in some of these giveaways! Have a great day x

  12. Saya
    March 6, 2012 at 10:46 pm (469 days ago)

    I LOVE that salad bowl set with those big handles! All those vibrant colours scream exotic ‘Mediterranean’. I love your use of combining roasted and raw veges together! A personal favourite salad of mine: lots of chopped fresh mint, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, crumbled fetta with lemon/dijon dressing xoxoxo

  13. Noémie
    March 7, 2012 at 12:36 am (469 days ago)

    Oh wow Em, what beautiful photos – I LOOOOVE the one with all your ingredients. Amazing!!!