Nectarines: So summery! Bonus: they contain a wide variety of vitamins & minerals, such as Vitamins C, A, E; Niacin, Potassium, Copper (yes, Copper! Helps make red blood cells and keeps your immune system healthy.)
Red peppers: Full of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. (read more about the benefits of peppers in The Day of The Pepper or Super Soup)
And Cannellini Beans... you know when you hear that you should be eating more legumes and you're like, "ok, but what exactly is a legume?" (Maybe that's just me.) Legumes are plants that have seeds in pods and include beans, peas and lentils. What's so great about legumes? They're a fairly cheap staple that are high in protein, low in fat and cholesterol, high in fibre and folate and other vitamins and minerals. Their good for you quotient is high; in fact The British Journal of Nutrition devoted an entire issue to the health benefits of legumes last August. (Click here if you want to read articles such as, "Regular consumption of pulses for 8 weeks reduces metabolic syndrome risk factors in overweight and obese adults."
Or just trust me and add some beans to your salad!)
Taste of Summer Salad
Ingredients:
1 400 gram can Cannellini beans - drained & rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
pinch sea salt
black pepper to taste
asparagus (approx 7 stalks)
1/2 red pepper, roasted
1 nectarine2 handfuls of lettuce, washed and dried
Parmesan crisps (*see below for easy how-to)
Prep red peppers: Char the outside (see how to here) remove charred skin and slice into inch long pieces.
Prep asparagus: Rinse and chop stalks into inch long pieces (don't use woody bottoms of stalks). Put into a pot of boiling water for 1 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water until the asparagus is cool. If you don't do this, they'll go mushy.
Prep nectarines: rinse and chop into chunks (keep skin on).
Drain cannellini beans and place in a salad bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over and add lemon juice. Add rosemary and sea salt. Mix with a spoon. Add prepped fruit and veg. Toss. Serve over lettuce and top with Parmesan crisps.
This salad was so good I quickly refilled my bowl and had a second helping!