GREEN POWER & ZING!

Upgrade romaine salad with apricot’s sweetness and arugula’s zing.

romaine salad with arugula and homemade oregano honey dressing

ABOUT ROMAINE SALAD WITH APRICOT AND ARUGULA

Mixing arugula, romaine, and apricots provides sweetness and zing. Even if you stop adding ingredients right there (besides dressing), you win. But we’ll continue building more layers.

We toss in plenty of protein by way of K2 rich gouda, fiber and folate rich black beans, vitamin E rich raw sunflower seeds, manganese rich almonds, and tryptophan rich roast chicken.

We didn’t even mention all the nutrients we get from the healthy greens themselves. Powerful salad, right?! Right. So, time for some chopping.

HELPFUL EQUIPMENT
Large Salad Bowl
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Paper towels – or a salad spinner. Something to get the water off the greens

pecans, apricots, black beans, and sunflower seeds

INGREDIENTS
Black beans – cooked, rinsed and dried
Arugula leaves
Romaine lettuce – chopped
Apricots – unsulphered, dried and diced
Sunflower seeds – raw
Almonds – thin sliced (or pecans)
Gouda – or sharp cheddar cheese
HoneySalt and Olive Honey and Oregano Creamy Vinaigrette – or your favorite salad dressing (to taste) (optional)
Roast chicken – diced (optional)
Whole black peppercorns – grind using mortar and pestle (optional)

PREP BEFORE STARTING

When possible, wash the lettuce and arugula ahead of time so they have time to dry, or use a salad spinner or paper towels.

chopped toppings for a chopped romaine salad

HOW TO SERVE

I recommend serving this salad with HoneySalt and Olive’s Oregano Vinaigrette with Honey salad dressing.
Toss the salad to coat each piece with whatever dressing you choose rather than setting the dressing on top.

Salad toppings cover romaine salad in serving bowl

cheese and black beans in a romaine salad

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Use dry lettuce and arugula chopped into even ½” or so pieces.
Rinse the beans and let them air dry before mixing into the salad. Cook them from scratch rather than using canned, when possible. Two cups dried beans soaked overnight and then drained, 6 cups water, a pinch of baking soda, and 2 teaspoons sea salt gives you beans without the can. Simmer away. This provides you with plenty for the salad plus leftovers.

WHAT TO AVOID

Dry the greens. No wet greens allowed.
Rinse the black beans. Dry the black beans. No thank you to bean juice coated lettuce.
Don’t dress the entire salad unless you plan to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

STORAGE AND LEFTOVER TIPS

Store the prepared salad in a covered container without dressing.