Very nourishing and yet simple to make salad from canned tuna, rice, corn, avocado, eggs and tomatoes. No mayonnaise! This salad always comes to my mind when I have leftover rice.
Tuna Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 2 hard boiled eggs peeled
- 1 can (150 g) tuna in its own juice drained
- 100 g fully cooked rice
- 1 avocado
- 1 can whole kernel sweet corn drained
- 2 medium tomatoes cut into 6-8 wedges
- 1/4 red oinon peeled and cut in half-moon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- Green onion or fresh dill minced
Instructions
- In a nice big serving plate, mash tuna using a fork. Add rice and stir to combine.
- Cut the avocado in half, using a sharp knife, slice through the avocado lengthwise until you feel the knife hit the pit. Remove the pit and dice avocado into cubes.
- Add avocado, corn, tomatoes, and red onion. Carefully mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil.
- Slice eggs into quarter. Arrange them on top of the salad. Garnish with green onion.
Tabbouleh Salad
Tabbouleh salad has been a fundamental part of Middle Eastern cuisine for many years. The main ingredients are bulgur, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil, the rest ingredients are fresh or marinated vegetables, olives, raisins and spices. This salad is very flexible, fell free to add more or less of any spices of your choice.
Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients
- 200 g couscous
- 200 ml boil water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 english cucumber or 4 small ones
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper (any color) (I used 3 mini bell peppers)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley
- 1/4 bunch Fresh mint
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Few drops tabasco sauce (optional)
- 1 large lemon
- 6 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water and 1/4 tsp of salt to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover tightly with a lid and remove from heat, let steam for 5 minutes. Cool it down.
- Cut tomatoes into small pieces.
- Peel and cut cucumber into small cubes.
- Peel and thinly chop onion.
- Remove seeds from bell pepper and cut into small cubes.
- Finely chop fresh parsley and mint.
- Place the chopped vegetables, herbs and bulgur in a mixing bowl. Add Tabasco sauce. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Mix gently. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer to a serving plater or serve it as a castle (using a ring)
- Or in a glass.
- Or as stuffed tomatoes.
Greek salad
This Greek salad is one of my favorite things. No matter how much I make, it seems to always disappear.
Greek salad
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes
- 1-2 cucumbers
- 1 bell pepper (any color)
- 1/2 red onion
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp dry oregano leaves
- 100 g greek Kalamata olives pitted
- 100 g feta cheese
- 1/2 lemon
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes in quarters.
- Slice the cucumbers in half long ways (remove seeds if desired) and cut 1/4 inch slices, starting at one end, so that you end up with bunch of half moon shapes or the letter “C”.
- Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper and cut into strips.
- Peel the onion and cut into perfectly thin slices.
- Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper and olives in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and dry oregano. Mix.
- Top it with sliced feta cheese. Squeeze the lemon on salad and drizzle with olive oil.
- If you like to serve your Greek Salad in individual cups, you can cut the vegetables into small cubes.
Vegetable Tian
This is not a ratatouille, it is a “tian!” I often have to correct my guests when they ask me if this is a ratatouille. 😉
Tian is a french recipe of baked vegetables made with alternating rows of sliced eggplant, tomato, onion and zucchini. A tian itself is an earthenware dish that goes from the oven to table. Everything baked in this dish is called tian.
Vegetable Tian
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 7 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 eggplant
- 1-2 zucchini
- 1-2 summer squash
- 5 tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp herbs de provence
Instructions
- Peel and cut the onion into half moons. Peel and cut the garlic into 2-4 pieces.
- In a medium skillet heat 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil until hot, add onion and sauté until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Spread the cooked onion on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Cut zucchini and summer squash into 1/4 inch slices.
- Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices.
- Core and cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices.
- Arrange the zucchini, eggplant, squash and tomatoes in alternating rows. Continue until the baking dish is filled.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and golden. If the vegetables are not ready, but the top is starting to burn, cover the tian with aluminum foil.
Tomato Tart
Who said that tarts are only for dessert? Fill a square of puff pastry with colorful mosaic of tomatoes, cheese, Dijon mustard, herbs de Provence. Then surprise your friends or family with this savory piece of artwork.
Tomato Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1-2 Tblsp Dijion mustard
- 5-6 tomatoes
- 30 g shreaded cheese (parmesan)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- herbs de provence (optional)
- couple basil leaf (optional)
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into thin (0.5 cm) slices. Put them in a single layer on paper towel. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. On the floured piece of parchment paper roll out the puff pastry and poke all over with a fork, to release the steam while baking.
- Evenly spread with dijon mustard.
- Arrange the tomatoes on top. Fold the edges of dough.
- Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with cheese and herbs.
- Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and the cheese is softening and colouring at the edges.
- Cut the tart into quarters, garnish with fresh basil and serve.
Cowboy caviar
Cowboy caviar (or Texas caviar) is a simple, healthy, colorful, and delicious appetizer, salad, side-dish, or dip. Using canned beans and corn is a quicker alternative to cooking dry beans. Spend less time in the kitchen but don’t forget to prepare in advance to allow the different flavors to blend together before serving.
Cowboy caviar
Ingredients
- 1 can (425 g) Black beans, Red beans, or Black Eye peas, or Tri-Bean blend drained and rinsed
- 1 can (425 g) whole kernel sweet corn drained and rinsed
- 1/2 red onion peeled and minced
- 1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange) cored and cubes
- 1 jalapeño cored and minced
- 3 tomatoes cubed
- 1/4 bunch Fresh cilantro chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lime juice
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl, mix, cover, and let chill for about one hour in the fridge.
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
Fresh Vegetable Salsa is great for a Mexican style party, as well as for spicy dish lovers. This traditional Mexican sauce can be served with corn chips and tortillas. But also very good with meat, fish or simply as a summer salad.
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes diced
- 1 english cucumber diced
- 1 sweet pepper (any color) cored and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper diced
- cilantro chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, then serve.
Tomato Rounds With Garlic & Cheese
It’s a super simple and fantastic 10 minutes appetizers, that I could eat a plateful. And when it comes to cheese, you are the boss. You can choose any hard/firm cheese that you like, as long as you’ll be able to grate it.
Tomato Rounds With Garlic & Cheese
Ingredients
- 4-6 tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to aste
- 1 clove garlic
- 100 g hard cheese
- some olive oil (optional)
- some fresh herbs parsley, green onion, dill,
Instructions
- Wash and cut the tomatoes into circles and layer them on the plater. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper to taste.
- Grate garlic, using microplane, sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes. Using the same microplane shred the cheese. Evenly layer on top of the tomatoes.
- Drizzle with some olive oil and garnish with fresh herbs.
Cucumber Tomato & Green Onion Salad
Looking for a “quick” salad to make? This cucumber and tomato salad is not just fast and easy salad to make, it is also a great summer side dish that goes perfectly with fish, potato, rice, omelet or just by itself.
Cucumber tomato & green onion salad
Ingredients
- 1-2 cucumber sliced
- 5-6 tomatoes quartered
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Some green onions chopped
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
Instructions
- In the bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, green onion, salt and pepper. Add the sour cream and gently toss. Serve right away.
Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini
This Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini almost didn’t make it to the dinner table. I could eat them all day. Everyday.
Delicious Tomato & Avocado Crostini
Ingredients
- 8 large baguette slices diagonally cut
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese soft
- 2 large avocados fully ripe
- 1 avocado sliced
- 8 Cherry tomatoes sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat the broiler.
- Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
- Broil turning the slices over once, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Halve two avocados lengthwise and remove pit; scoop the flesh into a small bowl, add cream cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
- Gently mash with a fork until spreadable.
- Spread the avocado mixture on the crostini, dividing evenly.
- Top each crostini with avocado slices and cherry tomatoes slices. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
