Just a Salad? Nope! Main Dish Salads and Marital Compromise

This week has been super warm here and gorgeous here in Central California. When the weather is warm like this, I am as happy as can be eating a big salad for dinner. My husband, on the other hand, is a hearty eater and will often balk at the idea of ‘just a salad’. To keep the peace we compromise by preparing salads that have a good amount of protein plus a really satisfying dressing made with good quality fats. Below is a recipe for one of our favorites:

Chopped Black Bean and Avocado Salad with Hempseed Chipotle Ranch

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
2 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained or 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup chopped seeded tomato (about 2 large tomatoes)
2 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off cob (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn)
Two ripe avocadoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Place all ingredients in a bowl and top with desired amount of the dressing.

Hempseed Chipotle Ranch Dresssing

One taste and you won’t believe this dressing using hempseeds as its creamy base. For best results, use a high-powered blender to really get the hempseeds smooth and creamy. This dressing can be made spicier by adding more chipotles or less spicy by removing the seeds before you use the pepper.

1 cup hempseeds
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice (you could also use lemon)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 whole chipotle pepper, canned in adobo
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (don’t like cilantro? You could use parsley)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Place the hempseeds, water, and garlic into a high-powered blender and blend until hempseeds are smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend the mixture well. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Note: you are likely to have leftover dressing which, believe me, is a very good thing! It will thicken up so you might need to thin it with water before using.

Enjoy!

~Chef Jenny

Hungry for more?

​Enter your email below to get my free updates & recipes and I will send you a free online cooking class showing you 'Three Ways to Make Vegetables Taste More Delicious!"