The Perfect Summer Dinner Plate
Protein, fiber, color and fresh ingredients. Less a recipe than a method, and one I come back to all summer.
One of my favorite ways to make grains like quinoa, rice or farro more exciting is to treat them like a salad base instead of a side dish. Add fresh herbs, cheese, crunchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, or a simple vinaigrette, and suddenly it becomes something you actually look forward to eating.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast or thighs, grilled
- Zucchini and carrots, roasted or griddled
- Cooked tricolor quinoa
- Cucumber, chopped
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Fresh mozzarella
- Fresh basil
- Olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper
Method
- Grill the chicken and slice it.
- Roast or griddle the zucchini and carrots.
- Toss the cooked quinoa with cucumber, tomatoes, mozzarella and torn basil.
- Dress the quinoa salad with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.
- Plate all three together.
Make it yours
- Any grain works: rice, farro, couscous.
- Cooking it all outside on a flat-top keeps the house cool and makes cleanup easy.
- Fresh herbs are the difference between fine and genuinely good.
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