Hello, loves! Today I decided it was finally time to taste a bit of my arugula plant, which I planted in my backyard in a box on May 2 along with some bell pepper plants. I knew that my arugula plant was full of leaves, but I wasn't quite sure when I should make a homemade salad from them. Today was the day though. It was like a calling from the arugula plant itself telling me to come make a delicious and peppery salad with its hearty, green leaves. So I did! That's a picture of one of my three arugula plants, which I picked the most leaves from. Of course I remembered to snap a pic halfway through the picking frenzy, but the next time it's full of leaves I'll post a picture! Promise!
After I picked the crisp leaves off my arugula plants I moved on to my basil plant, which I have mentioned before. Here's a picture of it! It's huge!
I snapped off the leaves of my basil plant, but only picked as much as I was planning to use for my salad. Then I snipped off the flowering parts of the plant because when a basil plant starts to flower you have to do that, or else the basil will stop growing. Off to the kitchen for some highly necessary washing. We have a lot of spiders and other small critters on our patio, so I made sure to wash the leaves as soon as I finished. Then I patted them dry with a paper towel. Next is the best part. It's the part where I made the dressing for which I would use to really bring out the strong, bitter and nutty taste of freshly cut arugula. It's a dressing I saw my Aunt Pat make for us a few times when we were visiting in California this Summer. I've always made a dressing similar to the one she made, but I never made it quite like her and now I do every single time. Here's what you need:
- a lemon
- a clove of garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil!)
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of black pepper
In a small bowl add the juice of the lemon. I used only half a lemon today because I was making a salad just for one, but if your salad is going to be bigger then I would definitely use the whole lemon. Next, dice up the clove of garlic into tiny chunks and add it to the lemon juice. Pour in the EVOO, the salt and the pepper and with a fork or a whisk start mixing the dressing. You'll notice that it transforms with bit of whisking from a juicy, kind of watery dressing, to a nice creamy dressing. It's a very smooth texture--perfect for any salad.
Pour that lemony-garlicky dressing right on top of the arugula-basil combo and mix. I like to add a few shavings of Parmesan to my salads too, so if you happen to have some in your fridge then I highly recommend adding some. The flavors just really mesh well with the dressing.
There you go! A refreshing, light and simple salad perfect for lunch, dinner or as a side. I'm already looking forward to my arugula plant sprouting more leaves so I can enjoy eating another super tasty salad! I could always go to Publix and pick up a bag of arugula, but trust me nothing tastes better than growing it yourself. Thanks, Lauren for those seeds!
xx
Lindsay
