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Cucumber & Fennel Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

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Cucumber and fennel salad with lemon basil dressing please!  The sun has been shining in the desert and that just makes us crave a healthy, clean, delicious and cold salad.  Phew!  Thank goodness for the sunshine…she gets lots of credit for this one! ha ha Anyway, this salad is literally bursting with flavor.  We happen to love fennel so it’s a win anytime we can incorporate it into a recipe.  We have used the lemon basil dressing in some of our other recipes like this chopped chicken salad  so you might want to check that one out too because it’s just too good.  Okay, back to the star of this show…this salad is so refreshing and makes a perfect side dish.  Pair it with your favorite fish or some grilled chicken and you are good to go.

There’s only a few cast of characters in the recipe which makes us happy.  All you need is an English cucumber (we prefer these guys because they have fewer seeds than the other cucumber guys), a fennel bulb, avocado, celery and the lemon basil dressing.  You can make the dressing in advanced so this salad is even more of a cinch to throw together.

Just chop everything up and throw it into a bowl.  For the fennel, you want to use the bulb and the leaves.  They have so much flavor.

 

You can make the dressing ahead of time which makes this salad even more of a piece of cake.  ha ha You wish this salad was cake!  Wow.  It must be late.  Please don’t judge.  Anyway, if you haven’t made the dressing yet, add all of the ingredients to your blender and blend it up.  Add the olive oil slowly after the rest of the goods are blended.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss until it’s all nicely combined. Yum!


Cucumber & Fennel Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 english cucumber, seeded and chopped
  • ¾ C fresh fennel bulb, sliced thin and roughly chopped
  • ½ C celery, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp fresh fennel leaves, chopped
  • 1 large avocado, cut into cubes
  • ½ C lemon basil dressing
  • S&P to taste
  • *Optional - ½ C crumbled feta cheese
For the Lemon Basil Dressing:
  • juice of 1 extra large lemon or 2 medium lemons
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 C loosely packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C 0% plain greek yogurt
  • 1½ Tbsp honey
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. For the lemon basil dressing - Add all ingredients except for olive oil into a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until basil is thoroughly mixed. Slowly drizzle olive oil in with blender on until combined. Add S & P to taste, set aside.
  2. In a large bowl add chopped cucumber, fennel, celery and fennel leaves. Add dressing and mix until coated. Season with S&P to taste. Add chopped avocado and feta if using and gently fold into salad.

Roasted Red Pepper Tahini Dressing

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The flavor of this roasted red pepper tahini dressing is seriously outa this world!  We are always experimenting with different flavors for dressings and sauces and this one is a total win!  We used jared roasted red peppers because they have a perfect texture and well, they are super easy!  Talk about a total time saver.  We highly recommend them and you can usually find them in any grocery store.  So, check out how easy this dressing is to make…All you need is a food processor or a blender, tahini, roasted red peppers, garlic, lemon, olive oil, honey and sea salt.  Simply add all the ingredients to your blender or food processor and blend until mixed.  This dressing is delicious on salads, tossed with roasted veggies or as a spread on a sandwich or wrap.  Stay tuned for the next blog post to see how we used this deliciousness!!  You gotta try this one!

Click here for another favorite dressing recipe:

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/creamy-balsamic-dressing/


Roasted Red Pepper Tahini Dressing
 
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Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • ¼ C tahini
  • juice of 1 medium lemon
  • ½ C roasted red peppers
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • 2 tsp honey
  • kosher salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor or high speed blender add all ingredients except for salt. Process on high until smooth. Season with kosher salt to taste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Lemon Kale Pesto

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We just love it when two loves collide…in this case we combined our love of kale and our love of pesto and mixed them up.  With this mashup, lemon kale pesto was born and we are definitely in LOVE with the combo!  Kale pesto is something you can easily whip up on a Sunday afternoon so it’s ready to roll for quick and easy weekday cooking.  You can use the lemon kale pesto on pasta, with sautéed veggies as a marinade for chicken, the list is endless.

Since kale is a heartier leaf you need to boil and blanch the kale to break it down before adding it to the food processor with the other ingredients.  Strip off the stem of the kale and add the leaves to boiling water for about 30 second.  Transfer the kale to a bowl of ice cold water – this is called blanching.  It stops the cooking and keeps the color vibrant.

One you’ve blanched the kale it’s time to throw everything together and make your pesto.  Add all of the ingredients to the food processor except for the olive oil, scrape down the sides until everything is all mixed up.  Keep the food processor running and slowly add the olive oil until combined.  Speaking of olive oil…use the good stuff, don’t skimp on cheap olive oil.  It makes a huge difference and makes everything taste that much better.  Always spend the extra few dollars when it comes to olive oil!!! Okay, olive oil rant officially over…at least for this post!

Now check out the beautiful vibrant color of this lemon kale pesto.   Gorgeous….almost too pretty to eat, but not really…you definitely need to eat this!! You will notice an earthier and heartier flavor when making pesto from kale instead of basil.  A great twist on a classic favorite, we hope you love this as much as we do!

Lemon Kale Pesto
 
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Serves: 1½ C
Ingredients
  • 1 medium bunch lacinato kale, stems removed
  • ⅓ C toasted walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • ⅓ C grated romano cheese
  • ½ C good quality olive oil
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp cracked pepper
Instructions
  1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add kale to the boiling water and remove with a slotted spoon or thongs after 30 seconds. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water. Drain and dry kale on paper towels.
  2. Using a food processor add kale, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice and zest and romano cheese. Pulse until combined. With the food processor running drizzle in the olive oil, add in S&P. Pulse, stopping to scrape down sides with a spatula until fully incorporated and broken down. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Garden Veggie Wrap with Lemon Basil Dressing

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This garden veggie wrap with lemon basil dressing is the definition of a fresh, healthy, leaves you feeling full and energized and not sluggish, wrap.  We love this wrap for two reasons…1) It’s packed with veggies and healthy fats 2) It’s made with our absolute favorite lemon basil dressing.

Stych Photography

If you follow us regularly you know that we heart this lemon basil dressing, it turns everything you pour it on into magic…it’s true. You need to make some for yourself so can experience what we’re talking about.

Stych Photography

So this wrap is NOT complicated, in fact you can use whatever ingredients you want or have on hand.  We used grated carrots, cucumbers, sprouts, avocado, yellow pepper, havarti cheese and toasted sunflower seeds, all piled on a gluten free spinach tortilla.  Oh, and don’t forget the lemon basil dressing…duh!!!

Stych Photography

Just wrap it up, secure it with a couple of toothpicks before cutting it in half, and you are ready to enjoy this healthy, low cal lunch. Easy peasy lemon basil squeezy!

Stych Photography

Garden Veggie Wrap with Lemon Basil Dressing
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 spinach tortillas (we used gluten free)
  • ½ C sprouts
  • ¼ C sliced cucumbers
  • 6 strips yellow pepper (yellow pepper cut into strips)
  • ¼ C grated carrots
  • ½ avocado, sliced
  • 2 slices havarti cheese
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
  • 2 Tbsp lemon basil dressing (see recipe below)
For the Lemon Basil Dressing:
  • juice of 1 extra large lemon or 2 medium lemons
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 C loosely packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C 0% plain greek yogurt
  • 1½ Tbsp honey
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. Lay the two tortillas on a large cutting board. Line each tortilla with sprouts, cucumbers, yellow pepper strips, grated carrots, havarti and avocado and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Drizzle lemon basil dressing over the top of each wrap.
  2. Roll into a wrap and secure with 2 toothpicks. Cut in half and serve.
For the Lemon Basil Dressing:
  1. Add all ingredients except for olive oil into a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until basil is thoroughly mixed. Slowly drizzle olive oil in with blender on until combined. Add S & P to taste. Store remaining dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

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To say I could drink this dressing might sound aggressive but I’m sorry, not sorry…it really is that good!  Making you own salad dressing is not only easier than you think, but it’s a million times tastier (and healthier) than buying the bottled stuff.  If you have never tried making your own dressing, we insist that you give it a try, starting with this balsamic dressing.  We guarantee that you will never buy the pre-made stuff again.  This creamy balsamic is a GTK favorite, it goes with everything.  It’s literally just six simple ingredients, takes 5 minutes to make and will last up to a week in the fridge.  How can you argue with that?  The combination of the tang of the balsamic, the sweetness of the maple syrup and the creaminess of the greek yogurt knocks this one out of the park!  Drizzle this over your favorite salad and you are going to be happy happy!!

saladdrizzle

Creamy Balsamic Dressing
 
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Serves: Approx ½ C
Ingredients
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp 0% Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor, blender, or immersion blender - add all ingredients except olive oil and process until smooth, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to process until incorporated. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

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Introducing our GTK Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. Let us just preface this with some quotes from friends who have tried this dressing:

“I could drink this entire bottle right here, right now”

“This is THE best salad dressing I have ever had in my life”

“I can’t wait to go home and make this”

“Please look the other way because I’m going to lick my plate now”

Really, this dressing has been a hit with everyone. Whenever we serve it, for whatever occasion, the raves keep coming. I keep a bottle of this lemon basil vinaigrette in my fridge all the time.  Like all of our recipes, it’s simple and requires very few ingredients.   Lemons, garlic, fresh basil, greek yogurt, honey and olive oil….that’s it! Oh, and a dash of S&P. You will be thanking us for this one!

This lemon basil vinaigrette is a staple on a lot of our salads and bowls. Here are a few ideas for this versatile dressing:

IMG_6277

 
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Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • juice of 1 extra large lemon or 2 medium lemons
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 C loosely packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C 0% plain greek yogurt
  • 1½ Tbsp honey
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients except for olive oil into a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until basil is thoroughly mixed. Slowly drizzle olive oil in with blender on until combined. Add S & P to taste.