Chard Cantaloupe Salad

June is National Fruits and Vegetables month (yes there’s a national day for everything). So I honor June with a salad of fruit and vegetables. This chard cantaloupe salad is a fresh, summery salad with a creamy basil dressing. The cantaloupe and the basil may be an unlikely pair, but the sweet and savory are a perfect match over a bed of swiss chard.

Chard Cantaloupe Salad Ingredients

Swiss chard is not a common salad green. I eat A LOT of salads so I like mix things up with new and different ingredients. Chard is a little tough for a salad but marinate it in the dressing for 15 minutes and it becomes more tender. The sweetness of the cantaloupe and cranberries are a perfect balance to the bitterness of chard. In addition, bitter foods can be balanced by a sour ingredient. The dried cranberries and creamy basil dressing will add that little bit of sour.

Dried cranberries add beautiful color and sweetness to this salad. Since cranberries are naturally very sour, they do have a lot of added sugar. For a lower sugar alternative, use dried cherries. They have a similar sweet and tart flavor.

Pistachios-If you have a nut allergy, pumpkin seeds are a perfect substitution.

Creamy Basil Dressing

This creamy basil dressing is super easy to make. The blender or food processor will do all of the work. So you’ll dump in all the ingredients and push the button. The dressing is made creamy with plain, unsweetened yogurt. If you are dairy-free or vegan, a vegan yogurt substitution will work well. Greek yogurt is too thick for this recipe but if that’s all you have, add a little extra water to thin it out.

As usual, I acknowledge that everyone’s flavor preferences are different. So I encourage you to adjust the flavors in this dressing. Taste . . . maybe more salt? More sweet? You decide.

Chard and Cantaloupe Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This fresh, summer chard and cantaloupe salad has a creamy basil dressing.

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Ingredients

Creamy Basil Dressing

• 2 fistfuls of basil leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 5 Tbsp plain (not greek) yogurt, non-dairy unsweetened alternatives are fine,
• 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp agave or other sweetener
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Chard and Cantaloupe Salad

• 6 large leaves of red chard, rinsed
• 2 cups cantaloupe in 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Instructions

Make the Creamy Basil Dressing

1. Place the basil and garlic in the food processor or blender and process until finely minced.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 30 seconds. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the lid and sides of the bowl and process for another 30 seconds.
3. Taste . . . maybe more salt? More sweet? You decide. Add a little at a time, stir and taste. If it’s too thick stir in another teaspoon or two of water.

Make the Salad

1. Cut out the stems from the chard. Cut the leaves in half lengthwise. Stack them up and cut into 1/2 ribbons.
2. Place in a large salad bowl and toss with about 1/4 cup of the basil dressing. Set aside for 15 minutes to “marinate.” Chard leaves can be a little tough, so this will tenderize them up a bit.
3. Top with cantaloupe and drizzle some more dressing on the melon. Top with the cranberries and pistachios.