ARUGULA AND HARVEST TOMATO SALAD

This salad combination has been my go-to for the past few weeks. It’s such a flavorful bowl and is super easy to toss together if you keep a few key ingredients prepped and on-hand. The arugula and harvest tomato salad recipe inspiration came from perusing Sweetgreen’s menu. I was super interested after listening to their founder’s interview on the How I Built This podcast. It’s a truly inspirational entrepreneurial story and I highly recommend the podcast to anyone interested in business! My favorite episodes to date have been Jeni’s ice cream, Spanx and Starbucks.

Anyways, Sweetgreen was built on the idea of providing quick, fresh and healthy food options near a college campus. I wish we had a location near my college when I was in school! I’ve only visited their locations a handful of times while traveling. Each time, I’ve enjoyed the fresh ingredients, exciting flavor combinations and crisp clean look of the restaurant.

Okay, okay so back to the actual recipe here… roasting tomatoes is my favorite way to enjoy the little gems and we all know they are sweetest when in season during the summertime. Roasting tomatoes is definitely the most time consuming part of this recipe. You can of course use jarred roasted tomatoes, or keep some on-hand. I don’t mind tossing them in the oven 20 minutes before lunch for a fresh batch.

One of the reasons I had hesitated to put this arugula and harvest tomato salad recipe on the blog is because I feel like it’s too diverse. Diverse in that I didn’t want to put constraints on it. I’ve enjoyed this recipe with goat cheese or feta, with grilled chicken or steak, with arugula or romaine. I think you get the idea. This recipe is merely a guideline and I hope you feel the creative inspiration to run with it and adhere it to what you have stocked in your refrigerator already.

Yield: 1

ARUGULA AND HARVEST TOMATO SALAD

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A warm salad of roasted tomatoes, hearty rice, toasty almonds, feta and fresh basil drizzled with olive oil and balsamic.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 c arugula
• 1/2 c grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp almonds
• 1/3 c rice, prepared
• 1 tbsp feta cheese
• 4 oz chicken, grilled
• 1 tbsp fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp balsamic reduction

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. In a small skillet, toss grape tomato halves in olive oil, salt, and pepper, roast for 25 minutes.
2. When the tomatoes have 5 minutes left, add almonds to the skillet and return to the oven.
3. Prepare salad with arugula base and all toppings. Remove tomatoes and almonds from the oven and toss over salad. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Toss with fresh basil leaves.

Notes

Both rice and grilled chicken are suggested as pre-prepared, this is because they are so interchangeable! I used lentil rice and pre-grilled chicken. You may use brown rice and a roasted chicken thigh. Prepare as you see fit!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 527Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 434mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 42g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.