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Grilled Apricot and Okra Summer Kale Salad

June 23, 2020 by Lauren Waterman Leave a Comment

The best way to use all of that gorgeous summer produce might be this grilled fruit and veggie salad loaded with stone fruit, corn, and okra.

Farmers Markets are popping right now! They’re overflowing with farm fresh produce of the season. We’re at that glorious sweet spot between spring and summer where we still have tons of fresh berries straight off the vine, but stone fruit and corn are starting to crop up. This salad is an ode to that sweet spot, and it’s bursting with summer produce and flavor. Plus, it gives you a chance to dust off those tongs and put your grill skills to the test.


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This salad is:

  • vegan

  • gluten free

  • dairy free

  • full of fiber

  • ready in 15 minutes

How to make this salad

The best way to cook summer corn on the cob

I was somewhat indifferent about corn growing up, because I only ever ate it on the cob slathered in salt and butter, and that gets old summer after summer after summer. Fast forward to now, and I’m obsessed. I try to get corn at the market whenever I see it because it’s the perfect compliment to some of the sweeter flavors that we’re used to eating in the hot months.

The best way to cook corn on the cob is straight up grill or bake it in the cob. I’m sure you remember husking corn as a kid. It was the worst job, it took forever and was so tedious. This method is super easy, and best of all, allows you to skip the husking part.

Soak the corn (in husk) in water for at least 30 minutes. More time doesn’t hurt; I’ve often forgotten about it and let the corn soak for a few hours. Place this on the grill for 15 minutes on a high heat, and remove when the husk starts to brown. Let it cool slightly, and then simply peel the husk open. The corn should slide right out and be totally free of the corn silk we all hate. You can also opt to use a knife to cut off the bottom inch of the cob and slide the rest out seamlessly. This is more of a party trick, but it’s pretty fun and works every time. I sliced the corn right off the cob with a knife, but you can opt for the frozen kind if that’s easier.

How to grill the apricots and okra


I cut the apricots in half, remove the pit, and then placed face own on the grill. You can also use a cast iron grill pan, which can go directly on the grill or even in the oven or stove top if you don’t have access to a grill or the weather isn’t cooperating. Cut the stems off of the okra and slice in half lengthwise. Place face down on the grill an leave for about 6-8 minute so you get deep gorgeous grill marks. You can mist the backs of the okra with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper if you like.

the kale

Kale should always be massaged if raw, or heated ever so slightly to reduce oxalic acid, an acid the kale makes as a defense mechanism in the wild. This oxalic acid is found in many green veggies, and is harmless if the cell walls are slightly damaged, breaking it down. To massage, simply squish with your hands before serving. I prefer slightly warm greens for this salad though, so I put all of the kale on a grill mat and grilled for about 2 minutes, just enough to crisp up the edges and wilt the rest. You can use whatever greens you like though, no need to stick to kale if it’s not your favorite. Check out the substitutions below for other leafy green ideas.

The fresh veggies

While everything else is grilling, slice red onion, and cube avocado to top your summer salad with. Add fresh blackberries (or blueberries if you prefer), sprouts, celery, and top with vegan ricotta. I used Tofutti brand, but you can make your own by soaking and blending cashews with a dash of apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast.

The dressing

This poppy vinaigrette is a favorite throughout all seasons. Mix olive oil with vegan milk – I used oat milk because it’s the best for the planet environmentally speaking, but you can choose whatever you have on hand. Add lemon, maple syrup, garlic powder, and a teaspoon of poppy seeds. I just put the whole thing in a dressing bottle and shake it vigorously for a minute, then drizzle it on everything. Another tip: if you’re overstocked on garlic and it’s starting to look a little old, roast all of it and freeze leftovers. Save one or two nutty, roasted cloves, and puree into this dressing for an added sweetness you only get from the roasted garlic.

The protein

I used seitan, a protein packed wheat product, for this dish. I make large batches of seitan once a month or every other month, and use them in much the same way you’d use chicken. Seitan is great in ‘chicken salad,’ vegan chicken noodle soup, in pastas, and you guessed it, on green salads. Here is the link if you’d like to try making you’re own seitan. My recipe takes about 30 minutes, and if you double it you’ll be eating pretty for quite a while. After making my base recipe, I breaded the seitan in a flour and baked it as a healthier version of ‘fried chicken,’ and I’ll say it was a giant hit in my household.


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Substitutions

  • Peaches would be amazing in this salad if you don’t have apricots handy.

  • I used okra, but any grilled veggie, like bell peppers, carrots, or even sweet potatoes would be perfect here.

  • Seitan was my protein of choice, but of course this summer salad would also welcome grilled tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, or white beans.

  • Frozen corn kernels can be used instead of corn on the cob if you have them available.

  • Any greens would work in this salad. Did you know you can cut Romaine down the middle and pop the whole thing onto the grill? It looks pretty sexy with the grill marks and tastes smokey and crunchy. Swap raw spinach, charred collard greens, even arugula for a little spice.

Applications:

Ways to enjoy this summer salad

This is the perfect side salad to a barbecue of seitan, tofu, or tvp meatballs. Honestly, when grilling anything, I always pair a delicious and juicy healthy green salad with it. Whatever you’re grilling, this is the ultimate compliment.

Serve it as the main dish and top it with my vegan fried chicken, like I did.

Double or triple the recipe and bring it to a cook out or party. This is a perfect summer salad that will impress guests.

More recipe ideas

As always, if you make this easy vegan summer time salad, tag me on Facebook or Instagram, and let me know how it goes! You can also check out my Pinterest page for more easy weeknight dinner inspiration.

If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy some of my other favorite quick salads and dinner recipes to match! See some of my favorite recommendations below:

Salads:

  • Loaded Greek Salad

  • Delicious Vegan Nacho Salad

Dinners:

  • Easy Family Style Penne Marinara with Veggies and Chickpeas

  • Creamy Vegan Cashew Alfredo

Vegan brown butter sage garlic cream fusilli pasta || I’ve been seeing a lot of pasta Sundays going around the Internet lately, so I decided to join in! we spent the day working on house projects and gardening, then finished with some yummy food on the grill, which I will add to my stories now. I’m going to leave you with this 🔥 pasta from earlier in the week that was a total hit in my house. 
Here is an easy dinner that is a sure fire way to get in all of your veggies, and takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I’ve included the recipe below in case you want to hit save so you have it on hand for later.
1/2 cup onion, diced
6 to 10 clothes of garlic, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil (read below for oil free option)
1 tbsp dried sage
2 tablespoons vegan butter (I used @earthbalance)
1/2 cup red bell peppers, diced finally
3/4 cup baby button mushrooms, have
1/2 cup broccoli, diced finally
1 cup kale, shredded
1/4 cup frozen peas 
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced finally
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup nutritional yeast or vegan mozzarella
🔷 Begin boiling water in large pot. Be sure to add a pinch of salt to the water- this is for flavor and also keeps your pasta from sticking together.
🔷Once water reaches a boil, add pasta. Dice onions, garlic, and sauté with sage over medium heat in a large pan for 5 minutes. If you are oil free, you can sauté in veggie stock or aquafaba. 🔷 Add in butter at this stage, and diced mushrooms and peppers.
🔷 Add and sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli, kale, and peas, as well as spices.
🔷When pasta is finished cooking, drain all of the water except for 1/2 cup.
🔷Add 1/2 cup starchy water along with pasta to the large pan with veggies in it. 🔷Add in nutritional yeast or mozzarella at this point and stir until the sauce thickens. 🔷 I topped mine with hot pepper flakes and parsley, but you can also top with more cheese, pinenuts, fresh tomatoes, etc. We also used beyond sausage or protein, but this pasta would be awesome with white beans, chickpeas, or tempeh. Simply cook them in the pot along with all of the veggies to absorb that flavor. Let me know if you try this!

Homemade veggie burgers with red pepper jam and crispy Brussels sprouts || Who doesn’t love a black bean sweet potato burger? These had a great texture and held together perfectly on the grill. I topped them with vegan feta, red onions, collard greens, vegan mayo, and a red pepper jam that I made by boiling down some older looking red peppers, adding a pinch of sugar and @kartago_harissa. ✨I am including the recipe for the burgers below in case anybody would like to click save to have on hand for later.
▫️2 cups roasted sweet potatoes
▫️1 1/4 cup cooked rice
▫️1/2 cup black beans, drained
▫️1 cup roasted cauliflower
▫️1 cup roasted eggplant
▫️1/2 cup peas
▫️1/2 cups corn kernels
▫️1 cup walnuts
▫️1 teaspoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
▫️3/4 teaspoon salt
▫️1/3 teaspoon pepper
▫️1 teaspoon paprika
▫️1 tablespoon flax seeds
▫️1 tablespoon garlic powder
roast the eggplant, cauliflower, chopped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet at 400° for 30 minutes. I used leftover rice from takeout, but you can boil rice and use that if you’d like. Toss all ingredients into a food processor or blender, then form into patties and bake at 350° for 25 minutes in the oven or on the grill. 
For the brussels sprouts the recipe is: ▫️about 15 brussels sprouts cut in half
▫️2 teaspoons olive oil
▫️1/2 teaspoon salt
▫️1/2 teaspoon pepper
▫️1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
▫️1/4 teaspoon oregano
▫️1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
▫️1 teaspoon onion powder
▫️1 teaspoon brown sugar
Toss in olive oil and spices, then pan crisp or roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 400°.

20 minute healthy sweet potato cookies || Happy Fridaaaaaay!! Eat some cookies y’all, they’re good for you 😘 Link for the #recipea is in the bio.

Sun-dried tomato, cucumber, and chickpea picnic salad || Everyone keeps asking what they should bring to barbecues this summer, and I think this might be your answer. This is a super simple salad to rustle up, doesn’t spoil in the heat, and tastes delicious. I’m including the recipe in case you want to click save to have it on hand next time you’re headed to a cookout. 
2 cups cooked Farro (or rice, orzo, quinoa, couscous, etc.)
2 cups cooked white beans
1 cup artichoke hearts, halved
1/3 cup onion, diced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2 cups cucumbers, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
I will have more step-by-step directions up on the blog tomorrow! Does this salad seem like something you would be interested in? What kinds of summer barbecue foods would you like recipes for? Enjoy your grilling!

Homemade sourdough with almond butter, Maca powder, kiwi, strawberry, and hemp seeds || So I think I missed toast Tuesday, but honestly every day is toast Tuesday in my house because I’ve been on a serious sourdough kick. If you check out my website, I have a ton of awesome bread recipes, but no sourdough recipes yet because I’m relatively new to the game. But honestly I’m in love. One of my friends dropped off a sourdough starter during quarantine, and there’s been no looking back since. I topped this toast with some almond butter I had mixed with @shopkarenberrios Maca powder. If you guys aren’t familiar with Maca, it’s a delicious Peruvian super food full of health benefits. It’s rich in antioxidants, and is a great source of protein, minerals, amino acids and is great for energy support, and has a rich nutty flavor.

Skinny sip tea with forget-me-not, hibiscus, Jasmine, rose, rosemary, and lemon|| Are you guys team tea? I remember having tea at my grandma’s house throughout my childhood, iced in the summer and hot in the winter, so it always carries a special memory for me. I love perusing tea shops on vacations and bringing home exotic flavors of loose leaf to remember the trip. @essencesiptea was so kind to let me try their incredible teas. This Skinny Sip tea clears toxins, reduces fluid retention, alleviates indigestion, reduces bloating, and targets existing fats. It uses traditional Chinese medicine principles and balances with natural herbs to nourish and cleanse your digestive system. Plus it is gorgeous to look at, which you know I’m all about. It tastes floral and delicate, and I am in love. If you’d like to try this tea, you can use my code chickpea_and_herb10 for 10% off your first order. #takeasip

Vegan chickpea ‘tuna’ on homemade potato bread, #recipea on the blog now || Such an easy, protein filled lunch, that’s even kid approved! Check the link in my bio to see how to make this meal. We had a great weekend celebrating Father’s Day. We drove to the mountains to visit my family, and saw some of my girlfriends from high school Friday night. We then went on a really great hike with the family on Saturday and did a bunch of grilling, because how else do you please dads? Then yesterday we saw my husband’s family and picked lots of fresh blueberries. Any suggestions for what I should do with them? How were your weekends, what did you do to celebrate?

Grilled apricot and okra kale salad with blackberries || Happy summer solstice! To celebrate, some of my foodie friends and I have gotten together and created some gorgeous summer dishes for you to feast your eyes on. Follow the hashtag #plantbasedsolstice to see more inspired summer meals that really celebrate the season! For this dish, I picked kale fresh from the garden, and then grilled apricots, okra, and corn with the husk on (let me know if you would like a tutorial on this!). I then added fresh blackberries, fresh red onion, vegan ricotta cheese, celery, kale sprouts, and avocado. I topped it with homemade seitan for protein and drizzled the whole thing with a vinaigrette made from olive oil, oat milk, poppyseeds, maple syrup, and garlic. This was such a fresh and fun meal, and I could eat it again and again. What are your favorite summer dishes?

Yield: 2 salads

Author: Lauren Waterman, Chickpea & Herb
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Grilled Apricot and Okra Summer Kale Salad

Grilled Apricot and Okra Summer Kale Salad

The best way to use all of that gorgeous summer produce might be this grilled fruit and veggie salad loaded with stone fruit, corn, and okra.
Prep time: 10 MCook time: 15 MTotal time: 25 M

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups kale, shredded
  • 5 apricots, halved
  • 1 cup okra, halved
  • 3/4 cup celery, diced
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
  • 3/4 cup corn
Poppy vinaigrette
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vegan milk
  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

  1. Soak corn (with the husk on) in water for at least 30 minutes to make it flame proof. Cook on the grill for 15 minutes or so, until the husk starts to brown. 
  2. As soon as you put the corn on the grill, cut the apricots in half and remove the pit. Cut the okra stem off, and slice in half.
  3. Put okra and apricots on the grill or hot grill pan face down.
  4. Sprinkle salt and pepper on okra if desired. Grill apricots and okra for 7-10 minutes or until grill marks develop. They should finish cooking around when the corn finishes.
  5. Add kale to sauce pan or cast iron skillet (which can go on the grill) with a fine mist of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste (optional). Heat for 2-5 minutes just to warm. 
  6. Add rest of ingredients to the salad and begin making the vinaigrette while the corn, apricots, and okra cool.
  7. Remove the husk from the corn, and then use a knife to cut the corn from the cob. 
  8. Add hot ingredients to the salad, and then drizzle with poppy seed vinaigrette.
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Filed Under: Meals Tagged With: apricot, apricot salad, corn, dinner ideas, farm fresh, fresh salad, fruit and veg, fruit in green salad, fruit salad, fruity salad, grilled apricot, grilled fruit, healthy, healthy dinner, healthy salad, okra, salad, salad recipe, stone fruit, summer fruit and veg salad, summer produce, summer salad, summer vegetables, summer veggies, veg salad, vegan dinner, vegan salad, vegan salad idea

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