Spicy Sweet Citrus Summer Salad

So the summer is winding down, which I wish it could go on forever. I love the summer.  But on the other hand I do welcome fall with its crisp clean air and warm delicious meals.  Enjoy the last days of summer with this crisp bright salad.  The chicken was so good I will probably just use this marinade for grilled chicken basically all the time. 

I also have exactly one year and one week left until I am getting married.  ::exciting:: I have to start dress shopping soon- and what better thing to make yourself feel skinny and healthy then a salad :)

The combo might seem a bit strange- but I really love the different textures and flavors. I'm sure you might have seen a similar combo of flavors before.  The earthy rosemary with the creamy beans and the orange just adds such a fresh pop along with the cool crunch of the fennel and lettuce.  The onion is spicy and sweet, and olives with that salty bite- and the chicken- like to die for so yum.

 ::Side note:: I used chick peas in the picture- but I really wanted to use cannellini beans- and I usually have a can but OF COURSE when I really need them- I don't have them. So I wrote the recipe for cannellini beans (but any light colored bean or even peas could work- or you could just totally omit them)

Oh and for this I totally whipped out my trusty George Foreman Grill.

Spicy Sweet Citrus Summer Tuscan Salad (w/ Grilled Chicken)
serves about 4 to 6

Ingredients

For the Marinade

• 1 orange, zest and juice (if the orange doesn't give a lot of juice, I used an extra splash of regular orange juice)
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• pinch of salt and pepper
• pinch of fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp of canola oil

Mix all these ingredients together and add the chicken.  Pop in the fridge for half an hour at least to let the flavors infuse.

For the Salad

• 1 orange, segmented* (I used the small navel orange)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 bulb of fennel, sliced thin
• 1 romaine heart, chopped
• about a 1/2 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• about 8 black olives, sliced

For the Salad Dressing

• 1 orange, zest and juice
• couple fennel fronds from the fennel, chopped
• pinch of fresh rosemary, chopped
• pinch of salt and pepper
• about 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• small pinch of cayenne (optional)

1. Grill your chicken. Then I thinly slice on the bias.
2. Toss all your salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl, except the oil.  Mix the ingredients and then slowly stream in the oil while whisking.  Pour a small amount of the dressing on the salad and toss.  Just enough to lightly coat.
4. Then add salad to bowls, top with chicken and drizzle more dressing on if you want.  You can even finish the salad off with some shaved Italian cheese. MmmMMmm.

*Segmented: this is a fancy way to cut up citrus.  First cut off the ends and then cut off the rest of the rind as shown in the pic below.  Then you carefully cut the fruit with a small pairing knife in between the white lines of the pith. (here's a helpful video)

Pearl Barley Summer Salad

Definitely serve this over my Grilled Chicken w/ Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Sauce.  If you have never tried pearl barley- you should- it is one of my favorite grains (low in fat and pretty high in fiber).  It is like a puffier piece of rice; delicious cold or hot- in soups or salads.  I made an in-between version which is hot barley over cold crisp vegetables tossed with a vinaigrette.  The hot barley soaks up the vinaigrette, then the crunch of the veggies and oh soooo goood!

I was on a clean-out-and-use-up-everything-in-the-fridge spree this week because we are going to motorcycle track this weekend (super excited! pics to follow!) Anyway, basically you can swap out any veggies you have lying around in the fridge.  Just cut them all into similar bite sized pieces. Also you can use whatever nuts you have lying around- almonds or walnuts would be good here too.  This salad is good for picnics because it is in a vinaigrette and can be left out.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of uncooked pearl barley, 2 1/2 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1 pepper, diced (I used a yellow one)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 1 ear of corn, kernels taken off (about a 1/2-3/4 cup of frozen if you don't have fresh)
• 3 tbsp of pine nuts, toasted*
• 1/4 cup of lime or lemon juice (if you don't get that much out of 1 lime or lemon just add a splash of vinegar)
• a little less than 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

1. Cook the pearl barley according to directions (the first bullet lists what I used). Bring water to a boil and cook barley on low for about 30-45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile prep all your veggies, herbs and nuts and add to a large bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl add the citrus juice, oil and salt and pepper and whisk up.
4. When the barley is done mix with veggies.  Then pour vinaigrette over everything and stir until combined.  Serve alone or over my Grilled Chicken w/ Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Sauce.

If you are serving with the chicken, grill the chicken while the barley is cooking.

*If you buy raw nuts, just put them in a dry skillet and heat on medium.  They will toast up in the skillet- but ALWAYS keep an eye on the them and shake the pan frequently, you don't want them to burn.  Should only take about 5 minutes or so.