Farmer’s Market Salad Board
The perfect way to “taste the rainbow” this summer and fall through seasonal eating.
I’ve really enjoyed making boards for dinner lately, it makes an “old routine” of sitting down at the dinner table more interactive, engaging, and fun. You can get the entire family involved in putting the board together and then everyone can build their own meal!
Also, our kitchen does not have air conditioning, so what I love is that there is minimal cooking involved…perfect for summer.
The original recipe that inspired this post comes from the beautiful Vegan Boards cookbook by Kate Kasbee, which I could not recommend enough, it’s fantastic!
Eating seasonally
“Buy things in season, and then only do what you need to do to make [food] taste as good as it can”
I was so inspired by this recipe, that I wanted to expand on the possibilities to give you two recipes for summer and another for the fall season, to draw attention to eating seasonally. Eating seasonally has so many benefits, the first being that the quality and taste of the produce is at its peak when harvested during its preferred season. By purchasing produce locally we are supporting our farmer’s, we can learn more about how and where the food is grown, and reduce the environmental impact that is created from long distance food transport.
Want to know what’s in season locally?
Summer Farmer’s Market Salad
Ingredients:
15 oz. canned chickpeas
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Maple syrup
Romaine Lettuce
Seasonal Ingredient Additional Possibilities
R: cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, strawberries, cherries, watermelon
O: orange bell peppers, carrots, peaches, heirloom tomatoes
Y: yellow bell peppers, corn, yellow squash, pineapple
G: green onions, peas, basil, zucchini, cucumber, avocado, spinach
B: blueberries
V: purple cabbage, eggplant, plums
Instructions
for the chickpeas
Preheat oven to 400 F and line large baking sheet with parchment paper
Drain and rinse 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas
Transfer chickpeas onto prepared baking sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, sprinkle with seasonings of choice (I enjoy salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, a dash of cayenne)
Roast chickpeas for 25 minutes, shaking the pan after 12 minutes or so
Let the chickpeas cool before transferring to a bowl to serve (they will crisp up as the cool)
for the dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup or some local farmer’s market honey
salt and pepper to taste
combine above ingredients in a mason jar and shake
the salad toppings
Most of the produce recommended here can be served raw and chopped.
I recommend chopping and roasting the squash and eggplant using traditional oven roasting methods
Julienne the carrots if you are serving those on your board
Warm up the corn and peas on the stove top with a little oil, salt, and pepper
I also decided to add a fried and seasoned tofu as a protein to our salad, but a protein is definitely not needed!
Serving
Build the rainbow board in a clockwise fashion around the bowl of crispy chickpeas.
*if you don’t have a round board, you can use a baking sheet, large serving dish, or a pizza peel like I did here! Use what you have, no one will know.
Have a large bowl of romaine lettuce on the side with tongs so everyone can grab as much as they’d like.
Have a few small spoons, forks, and tongs for the many ingredients around the board so everyone can do it themselves
Give each guest a bowl
Serve the salad dressing on the side
KEEP READING FOR THE FALL SALAD BOARD
The amazing thing with this recipe is you can mix & match to your family or guests tastes, and even if there is something on the board that they don’t like, they can choose to leave it out of their salad creation!
Fall Farmer’s Market Salad
Ingredients:
15 oz. canned chickpeas
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Maple syrup
Kale or romaine lettuce
*if serving kale as your main green, rinse, cut, and massage with bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving (this makes it more tender and less bitter)
Seasonal Ingredient Additional Possibilities
R: apples, pomegranate
O: sweet potato, pumpkin, mandarin oranges, butternut squash
Y: delicata squash, golden apples
G: pears, brussels sprouts, broccoli
B: *a bit more difficult to find “blue” options in fall
V: purple cauliflower, figs, purple sweet potato, purple kale
Instructions
for the chickpeas
Preheat oven to 400 F and line large baking sheet with parchment paper
Drain and rinse 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas
Transfer chickpeas onto prepared baking sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, sprinkle with seasonings of choice (I enjoy salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, a dash of cayenne)
Roast chickpeas for 25 minutes, shaking the pan after 12 minutes or so
Let the chickpeas cool before transferring to a bowl to serve (they will crisp up as the cool)
for the dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
combine above ingredients in a mason jar and shake
the salad toppings
Most of the produce recommended here can be served raw and chopped.
I recommend chopping and roasting the squash, brussels, and potatoes using traditional oven roasting methods
Cover the apples and pears in a bit of lemon juice if serving to slow down the browning process
Serving
Build the rainbow board in a clockwise fashion around the bowl of crispy chickpeas.
*if you don’t have a round board, you can use a baking sheet, large serving dish, or a pizza peel like I did here! Use what you have, no one will know.
Have a large bowl of romaine lettuce or kale on the side with tongs so everyone can grab as much as they’d like.
Have a few small spoons, forks, and tongs for the many ingredients around the board so everyone can do it themselves
Give each guest a bowl
Serve the salad dressing on the side