Shades of Green Chopped Salad + Double-Corn Corn Bread with Fresh Thyme

We're celebrating Meatless Mondays with balanced, delicious meal plans. We hope you'll join us -- whether you're vegetarian all the time or just here and there. 

Today, we're taking advantage of summer produce by turning salad and fresh bread into a substantial dinner.

  

During the summer, it's easy to transform a salad into a substantial meal. Just mix the season's freshest produce with nuts, dried fruit, and cheese (or a vegan alternative), and you'll end up with a dish that deserves a place at the center of your plate. Tonight's salad is a celebration of diverse flavors and textures that come together in minutes.

Because salad just wouldn't be the same without a great piece of bread on the side, bake off a quick cornbread using the market's freshest corn. There you have it: you've made salad and bread into a hearty, but not heavy, meal that shows off summer's bounty. And the best part? You'll have plenty of extra cornbread left over for the coming week.

The Menu

Take advantage of our handy grocery list and game plan, or click the recipe photos or titles to see (and save and print) the full recipes.

Shades of Green Chopped Salad by fortheloveofyum

Double-Corn Corn Bread with Fresh Thyme by merrill

The Grocery List

Serves 2 to 3, with extra cornbread

1 cup (200 grams) coarse yellow cornmeal
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme       
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon crème fraîche
1 tablespoon chopped chives (and some extra for garnish)
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 Hass avocado, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 english cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese, at room temperature

We're assuming your kitchen is stocked with garlic, honey, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, unsalted butter, canola oil, light brown sugar, eggs, and milk. If not, add those to your list, as well.

The Plan

1. An hour before you plan to eat, preheat the oven to 350° F and butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal with 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 1/4 teaspoon salt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup melted and cooled unsalted butter, 1/4 cup canola oil, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk in two eggs, one at a time, and then 3/4 cup crème fraîche. Pour the egg-sugar mixture into the cornmeal mixture and fold together until incorporated. Fold in corn kernels and thyme, spread batter into the pan, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

3. While the cornbread bakes, make the salad dressing. In a blender, combine the Champagne vinegar, the remaining teaspoon of crème fraiche, and the chives with 1 small clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of honey, salt, and pepper. With the blender running, stream in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set the dressing aside. Prepare all of your salad ingredients except for the apple and avocado.

4. When the cornbread is out of the oven and cooling, cut up your avocado and apple and mix them with the lemon juice. Then, combine all of the other ingredients in a bowl with the dressing. 

5. Cut your cornbread into 12 pieces, garnish your salad with gorgonzola and chives, and enjoy.