Greta Garbanzo Salad
If you favor the Mediterranean diet, then you’re going to love this one. Garbanzo beans, Grano, and kale tossed with kalamata olives and fresh tomatoes enrobed in an olive oil, lemon, mint and garlic dressing. Place this salad in a pita and serve with a Sicilian Nero d’Avola wine.
Whether I’m hosting a get-together or just making lunch or dinner for myself, salads often take center stage. But these aren’t the traditional salads featuring leafy greens. I’m talking about salads with some real character—salads with bold ingredients and flavorful dressings that leave your taste buds singing.
The great news is you don’t need to be a chef to get these salads on the center of your plate. We’ve already taken care of that part. You can simply enjoy serving and eating them. In fact, most of these salads are so gratifying all you need is a nice beverage and a good loaf of bread as the sidekick.
We’ve been in the kitchen on a mission to meet a growing demand for salads that work great as an accompaniment to a meal or as the meal itself.
“Our goal was to deliver extraordinary salads that not only have the usual wholesome and pure qualities that many people look for when they reach for a salad, but also salads that would surprise and delight the senses with unique fresh herbs, grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits,” said Tim Tesch, who is one of our own executive chefs and has played an instrumental role in developing these salads.
Grilled Vegetable Quinoa
Savory and smoky fire-grilled asparagus, zucchini, red pepper, and red onion tossed with fresh grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and tender quinoa in a fresh basil balsamic vinaigrette. Pair it with grilled salmon, our multi-grain baguette, and an Argentine Torrontes wine.
During the past year, we looked at many cool beans (pun intended) and grains with the local experts at Indian Harvest in Bemidji, Minnesota. One of our favorites was the creamy and tender giant Peruvian lima beans that we used to create a creamy, tender lima bean salad with blue cheese, bacon, and basil. We also loved the dainty little French green lentils that we combined with baby peppadews, asparagus, and a sweet chili pepper dressing.
Another discovery for us was a beautiful golden grain called grano. We combined it with fresh vegetables and traditional Greek flavors to create our Greta Garbanzo Salad. We also enjoyed a hearty and nourishing grain called farro. We couldn’t help but play off the name for a salad we call Farrout Broccoli Kale. In addition to what the name implies, this salad also features dried apricots, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese—all brought to life in a simple olive oil and lemon dressing.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
A delicious twist on pasta salad and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Rotini pasta with oven-poached chicken, fresh vegetables, and crumbled blue cheese smothered with a creamy and mildly-spiced buffalo dressing. Pair it with our Bake-at-Home Rustic Italian Batard and an iced sparkling beverage.
While we were developing the combinations to these salads, we had multiple trials, retrials, and retrials of the retrials. Our team had a catch phrase when we finally landed a salad just where we wanted it: “A glass of wine and a baguette and you’re good to go!”
In total, we’ve created 20 new sensational salads. We love each of them for the unique and colorful traits and flavors they bring to the party. The special quality they all share is the ability to shine on the center stage of your plate.
Bea James, senior manager of organic, natural and sustainable programs