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Watermelon Wedge Salad (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Wedges of juicy summer watermelon are topped with a tangle of sprouts, pistachios, and mint dressed in a simple lime dressing. This vegan and gluten free no-cook salad is perfect for the summer season!

First things first, happy summer solstice! Today is officially the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. It’s a time for celebrating life and embracing not only the sun that gives us warmth but the one that lights our souls. We often forget what fuels us and gives us inspiration. It is often easy to stray from your dreams and become lazy and sedentary in the day to day. I’ve been trying to hold on to that fire lately and rediscover what my passions in life are. What better day to do this than today?

I decided to post a solstice inspired salad today full of summer vibes. Like many of the things I post, this beauty has been swimming around in my head for a couple of weeks. I wanted to create a watermelon wedge salad with a tangle of sprouts on top. Throughout this week various other salad add-ins popped into my head. The result is what you’ll find below. It always amazes me how my posts come together. You would think I’ve always got food on the brain. And actually, you would be right 😉

I’m really digging this salad. It is one of the best I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot because I’ve eaten tons of salads! Due to the fragility of the sprouts, I would wait to dress the salad until right before you serve it. The acid in the lime juice tends to wilt the sprouts rather quickly. I used buckwheat sprouts because it is what I had on hand, but feel free to experiment. I added a bit of fresh mint to the salad because I love it with watermelon and I have a giant pot of it growing outside. If you can’t get your hands on any, basil, tarragon, or lemon balm would be absolutely delicious.

Watermelon Wedge Salad

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

8 small/medium wedges of watermelon
zest of 1 small lime
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
1/4 tsp pure maple syrup (or honey or agave)
1/4 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp hulled hemp seeds
1 tbsp julienned fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cups sprouts/microgreens of your choosing
smoked sea salt or other flaky sea salt to serve

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Instructions

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the lime zest, juice, olive oil, and maple syrup. Add in the pistachios, coconut, hemp seeds, and mint and toss to coat in the dressing. Add the sprouts last, carefully tossing to combine everything. Serve a tangle of the sprout salad on top of each watermelon wedge. Garnish with a pinch of flaky sea salt and a bit of mint.

Makes 8 side servings/wedges.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Category: salad

Late Spring Crostini with Fennel Frond Gremolata (vegan & gluten free) | seasonal plant-based recipes via the Sweet Miscellany blog

It may technically be late spring but in Houston we already have the humidity and heat that makes it feel as if summer has arrived. You can’t walk outside without being enveloped in the unwelcome embrace of humid air. The humidity is mostly to blame on the torrential downpours and floods we’ve been having for what seems like the entire month of May. I think the rains are over for now though in their wake is a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes. Before it gets too terribly hot outside I wanted to share these crostini with you as spring produce is fleeting in these parts.

I was actually planning on sharing something cold and sweet here today but I decided against it because I had the overwhelming urge to bake some bread and use up these veggies before they met their demise in the crisper. Typically I don’t dream of baking bread when the mercury starts to rise, but I received Erin McKenna’s latest book “Bread & Butter” in the mail this past week. Erin of Babycakes fame just released this stunner filled with all sorts of bread-y recipes to satisfy the biggest of gluten-free carb lovers among us. In trying to figure out which recipe to try out first, I narrowed it down to the focaccia, the plain sandwich bread, and the pizza dough. Since fresh baked bread is my jam, I decided to go with the sandwich bread. And since I wanted the bread to have more of a purpose than going directly into my belly as fast as my hands could get it into my mouth, I decided to make some springy crostini!

Fennel has become a new love of mine during the colder months. It takes on such an amazing flavor when it’s roasted as the licorice flavors mellow and caramelize. I spotted some at the market this past weekend so I immediately snatched it up. For these crostini I pair it with spicy radishes and earthy asparagus to create a tangle of roasted veggie goodness. Since I like different textures, I threw some almonds in the mix for a bit of crunch. To create a bit of contrast and be mindful about reducing waste, I made a fresh gremolata out of fennel fronds, lemon zest, and garlic to top the crostini. If you don’t have any bread, you can serve this over some greens or you favorite cooked grain and it will still be delicious.

Late Spring Crostini with Fennel Frond Gremolata

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Author: Courtney
Total Time: 30-35 minutes
Yield: 6-10 crostini
Diet: Vegan

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Description

A tangle of roasted radishes, fennel, and asparagus is piled on slices of freshly toasted bread and sprinkled with a fennel frond gremolata. A beautiful (and delicious) ode to springtime produce!

Ingredients

for the roasted veggies

1 small bulb of fennel (reserve fronds for gremolata)
3–4 radishes
6–8 spears of asparagus
small handful of sliced almonds
salt/pepper to taste
olive oil
juice from 1/2 of a small lemon

for the gremolata & assembly

2 tbsp finely chopped fennel fronds
zest of 1 small lemon
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
6–10 slices of your favorite gluten free bread (the amount of slices depends on the size of the bread)
olive oil
smoked sea salt or other flaky sea salt

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Clean the veggies well and trim off any ends or cores if necessary. Slice everything into similar sized pieces and put it on a baking sheet. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the veggies, season with a bit of salt and pepper, then toss to coat. Roast the veggies for a total of 20-25 minutes or until the edges just start to caramelize. During the last 5 minutes of roasting time, toss in the almonds. Once you remove the baking sheet from the oven, squeeze the lemon juice over the veggies and toss to combine. Set aside the veggies until you are ready to assemble the crostini.

Make the gremolata by combining the chopped fennel fronds, lemon zest, and minced garlic in a small bowl. Mix well.

To assemble your crostini, drizzle your bread with a bit of olive oil and toast it according to your liking. Depending on the size of your bread, you may wish to cut it in half to make smaller crostini. Top each piece of bread with a heaped spoonful of the veggie mixture, then sprinkle the gremolata over the top. Finish with a pinch of smoked sea salt or other flaky sea salt if you like. Makes 6 to 10 crostini depending on the size of the bread. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

The size of the bread will dictate how many crostini the recipe makes. If you use smaller pieces/slices, you’ll have enough of the veggie mixture and gremolata for about 10 crostini.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes