Overheard: “Nobody makes friends over salad”
This salad is my response to this statement. If you make this salad, you will not only make friends, you will make friends for life, maybe even lovers.
A potluck is a great place to expand your food palate and make friends. Would you like to go to a potluck and have over 100 dishes to sample from? Good news – you are here!
Welcome to the Virtual Vegan Potluck - May 2013 edition! I hope you’re wearing your stretchy pants! Today there are over 100 creative and passionate food bloggers from across the globe sharing their plant-based deliciousness just for you. I am super excited to be a part of this semi-annual event uniting vegan bloggers eager to make their way into your heart through your stomach. Grab a soy latte, or glass of organic wine – depending on what time it is where you are, get comfy and browse all the yummy food this talented group of compassionate people brought to the virtual table.
This salad is the mother of all salads, a man salad, the mac daddy of salads, this is a steakhouse version of a salad. There are so many unexpected delicious flavors and wonderful textures going on in here.
Comfort food like roasted potatoes, everyone loves potatoes!
And my new favorite obsession – grilled avocado. If you liked avocado before, you will fall in love with it grilled. Slightly crispy on the outside and creamy and melty in the middle, it will blow your mind.
Makes 2-3 ‘hungry man’ servings
Ingredients
- few handfuls salad greens
- 2-3 portabella mushrooms, dirt and stems removed
- 3 cups roughly cubed potatoes
- 1 avocado, halved, pit removed and sliced
- 1 yellow or green zucchini, cut into wheels or half moons
- ½ yellow or white onion, sliced
- Few tsp. montreal steak spice
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- oil for cooking and marinating (grapeseed, safflower, truffle or coconut)
- roughly ¼ cup red or white wine (optional)
- roughly ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 roasted red bell pepper (jarred), roughly chopped
- juice from ½ lemon
- 1 tsp. prepared horseradish
- roughly chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. While the oven is warming, marinate portabella mushrooms in a coating of red or white wine and/or balsamic vinegar, about a tsp. montreal steak spice and a drizzle of oil in a resealable bag or container.
- Toss cubed potatoes with a drizzle of oil and montreal steak spice, and roast for about 20-30 minutes, until a little crispy on the outside.
- While potatoes are roasting, heat about a tablespoon of oil in large pan over medium heat, add onion slices, zucchini, season with salt and pepper and sauté until onions are translucent. Remove and set aside, but keep the pan warm for the avocado.
- Grill avocado slices on each side until slightly browned, remove from heat, keeping the pan warm for the mushrooms.
- Remove portabella mushrooms from the marinade and sauté a few minutes on each side until slightly browned, turning once or twice.
- To make the dressing, combine chopped red bell pepper, horseradish, lemon juice, with a pinch of salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Now the fun part – assembly! Plate a few small handfuls of greens, top with grilled portabella mushrooms, then sautéed onions and zucchini, grilled avocado, roasted potatoes and drizzle with the zesty red pepper-horseradish sauce.
Prepare for the love-fest.
To check out what my friends brought to the potluck, go back or forward in the buffet line to check out the creative deliciousness using the buttons below. If you like to start at the beginning, click on the Virtual Vegan Potluck icon at the top of this post. There’s no such thing as going the wrong way in this buffet line!
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bon appetit!
