Grilled Tuna Nicoise Salad

Hope you are all continuing to have a fabulous summer! I shared a photo of a grilled tuna Nicoise salad I made and the response was incredible! Anytime you are interested in recipes, gardening tips, outfits etc that you see me post photos of, please let me know! I love sharing the details! Find the salad recipe below.

 

First, have your tuna marinating in some olive oil and garlic. While it’s marinating, boil some small new potatoes and prepare your hard boiled eggs. In a separate pot, begin the blanching of the French string beans process. You will want to boil the string beans for 5-6 minutes, drain and then cover them with cold water for a bit so they are slightly cooked but still crisp.

 

At this point, throw your tuna on the grill and then being preparing the salad platter with Bibb and Endive lettuce, anchovies, olives, chopped tomatoes and parsley. Add your blanched string beans, potatoes and eggs. When your tuna is grilled to perfection, place on top and serve with the salad dressing of your choice on the side!

For those who do not like tuna, you may replace with grilled chicken!

 

Enjoy!

 

Heat Wave Pasta!

Hello again! I hope you have all been enjoying your summer so far! If you live on the East Coast, especially New York, you are well aware that we are in the middle of a serious heat wave!! Every day it feels like a cool 101 degrees and its brutal. Anything that is not ice cold does not sound good to me.

Last night, I was thinking about what to make for dinner before I had to run off to film. I needed something quick and still somewhat healthy but everything that required heat completely turned me off. So I opened my fridge, rummaged around and started throwing a little something together.

Most of these ingredients you should be able to find in your kitchen already.  First I put on a pot of water to boil. While that was boiling, I sliced some cherry tomatoes in half and drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20mins based on how roasted you want them.

At this time, the water was ready and I threw in a serving size of whole wheat penne pasta to cook for about 10-12 minutes.  While the tomatoes and pasta were cooking, I threw some baby spinach into a pan and sautéed for about 5 minutes.  If you time it correctly, you can have everything done at the same time.

I grabbed a bowl and threw in the pasta, roasted tomatoes, sautéed spinach with a small splash of olive oil and lemon juice. I then put the bowl in the freezer to get a quick cool off.

During this time I went to do my hair and make-up!

When I was all ready to walk out the door, I grabbed the bowl out of the freezer and added just a little bit of sliced fresh mozzarella and that’s it! It was a colorful and refreshing quick summer meal!

I’m sure with a little more thought there are some other great ingredients that could be added. What are your suggestions? What are your go to meals in this type of heat?

Xo

Ramona