Take advantage of the seasonal fruits and vegetables on the market by tossing them into a simple salad. These five refreshing recipes showcase the best of summer eating.
Pesto is a summer classic, traditionally made with the abundance of fresh basil available now. The herbal sauce is often tossed with pasta, but at Monteverde in Chicago, Chef Sarah Grueneberg cross-utilizes it with potato salad, adding fresh summer beans for contrast.
Photo courtesy of National Watermelon Promotion Board
Philippine Grilled Watermelon and Pork Belly Salad
Few fruits say summer as loud and clear as watermelon. This salad recipe uses every part of the watermelon and highlights its versatility as a global ingredient.
Whiskey Kitchen in Raleigh, N.C., has updated the Native American trio of corn, beans and squash to take advantage of the local seasonal bounty. Israeli couscous rounds out the vegetables and the salad is dressed with a berry vinaigrette.
At Etta in Chicago, chef Danny Grant makes the most of tomatoes’ sweet flavor by combining them with ribbons of summer squash, roasted corn and fresh herbs. The salad is piled on a bed of creamy stracciatella cheese, a close cousin of burrata, for the right textural contrast.
Flexibility is a strong point of this salad, as a mix of any seasonal greens can be the base. Choose what’s fresh and well-priced, then add juicy blueberries and creamy Gorgonzola for flavor, color and texture contrast.
Going beyond typical plant-forward recipes, R&D Chef Sarah Bodner introduces new ideas that can be replicated all year, not just at special Earth Day events.
The summit, which is part of the USDA’s and Action for Healthy Kids’ Healthy Meals Incentives, allowed operators from small and rural districts to connect and find ways to improve their programs.