10 min prep, 2 roasting tins and 30 min in the oven for this easy and nutritious Mediterranean Summer Salad that you can share with your child. Perfect for lunch or dinner.
Summer is my favorite season. Not just for the sun, but I love the large amount of seasonal vegetables I get every summer.
And those hot summer days can make you longing for light and nutritious foods that will give you energy throughout the day without leaving you with the feeling of bloating and heaviness.
Salads are just the thing! And when I say salads I don't mean just the huge amounts of leafy greens that don't provide much calories. I mean really great, energy-loaded nutritious summer salads filled with carbohydrates, protein and fat. And vitamins and minerals of course.
This Mediterranean Summer Salad really captures my Mediterranean background since it is filled with all the delicious foods that are characteristic for this part of the world. And they are delicious, let me tell you that.
So if you're interested in trying something different for a light summer lunch, this summer salad is perfect.
This is a perfect salad you can make for the whole family, including baby-led weaning, adapt it for pincer grasp or serve to a toddler.
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Nutrition And Ingredients
Bulgur Wheat
- Bulgur is a type of wheat that is authentic for Middle Eastern dishes and that's probably why it is often used in Mediterranean dishes as well
- It is a good source of calories and complex carbohydrates and a great source of manganese
Zucchini
- When preparing zucchini, I remove about 1 cm from each end of the zucchini and then cut into circles which are about 1 cm thick. And I always leave the skin on since it contains the most nutrients. But I do tend to buy organic zucchini because of that. If you are making this for babies scroll below for info on how to prep this for babies.
- Zucchini is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese and a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, folate and copper
Eggplant
- Although you will get more nutrients from the eggplant if you use it with the skin on, I always remove it. It's just that when baked, I find the eggplant skin being a bit hard to chew and sour and this is something I really don't like. But you are free to leave it on if you wish
- Eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, manganese and copper as well as the vitamin B1
- It contains a specific phytonutrient called nasunin which gives eggplant its characteristic color but also protects from cellular damage
Cherry tomatoes
- I prefer to use cherry tomatoes for this salad as opposed to regular tomatoes because they have a sweeter taste which works really nice in this salad
- The best option is to use homegrown cherry tomatoes if at all possible because that way you will really experience their authentic flavor
- They are a great source of vitamin C and contain a special carotenoid called lycopene which can protect the cardio-vascular system
Feta cheese
- If you can buy real Greek feta cheese – go for it! It really would be the best quality feta cheese that will really give this salad it's Mediterranean authenticity
- Feta cheese is a nice source of calories, protein and fats as well as calcium. It does have a lot of sodium so go light on it for toddlers and babies
Olives
- If you can get your hands on the Greek Kalamata olives, I highly recommend you use them in this salad. In the absence of Kalamata olives and other ones will do. Just make sure that you remove the seed in case you buy them with one. For toddlers I always rinse the olives beforehand to try and get rid of as much salt as I can
- Olives are a great source of calories and "healthy" fats which can protect the cardio-vascular system
- They also provide a good amount of iron, vitamin E, copper and dietary fiber
Olive oil
- When baking vegetables, I always use extra virgin olive oil that I buy from a friend in Croatia. So I really know the origin of the olives and olive oil and can be sure that I am using the best possible quality oil
- Olive oil is a great source of calories and "healthy" fats which can protect the cardio-vascular system
How To Make Mediterranean Summer Salad
Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Bake the veggies. Wash and cut the zucchini and eggplant into pieces about 1 cm thick (peel the skin if you wish). For baby-led weaning, peel the eggplant and zucchini and cut the veg the width and length of about 2 adult fingers stuck together. Omit the salt.
Wash about half of the cherry tomatoes and cut in halves. Place the veggies into a mixing bowl, add the 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper and mix everything with your hands (omit the salt if making for babies under 1). Line an oven baking tin with parchment paper and place the veggies on the baking tin. Bake for about 30 minutes. Until soft but not overbaked (for baby-led weaning and pincer grasp you want them to be soft enough so you can mash them between your fingers).
Oven cook the bulgur. Meanwhile, place the bulgur in a roasting tin and add a cup of water and place in the oven for 20 minutes. This is an easier way to make bulgur because you don't have to keep going back to the kitchen, waiting for it to boil, turn the heat down, etc... but you can let the oven do the work while you relax.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut the feta into cubes, olives into halves and the rest of the cherry tomatoes into halves. If the olives have a seed, remove it (rinse the olives for toddlers to remove excess sodium).
Make the dressing. Prepare the dressing – mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard.
Cool and serve. Once the veggies are baked, take out from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Place the cooled veggies into a serving bowl, add the feta, olives, fresh cherry tomatoes and cooled bulgur and mix with 2 salad spoons. Pour the dressing over the salad before serving.
How To Serve To Babies And Toddlers?
Babies
- Omit salt from the recipe
- Baby-led Weaning
- Baby-led weaning peel the zucchini and eggplant and cut into the width and length of two adult fingers stuck together
- Serve with bulgur wheat on a preloaded spoon
- Avoid feta, and olives and cherry tomatoes
- 9 months old+ (or whenever ready for pincer grasp)
- Cut up eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes into bite size pieces or the same as for baby-led weaning
- Serve bulgur on a preloaded spoon
- Avoid feta and olives
- Toddlers
- Serve the same as for parents but keep feta on the lower end because of high sodium amount
- For picky eaters you can separate the ingredients like we did in the photo below
Tips And Tricks For The Perfect Salad
Don't use too much salt. When baking veggies, use just a small amount of salt when you mix them with the olive oil. A few pinches is enough to help the eggplant release it's natural sourness and to enhance the taste of the veggies. If you use too much the final dish might be too salty because you're also using feta cheese which is naturally salty.
Don't overbake the veggies unless using for baby-led weaning/pincer grasp. The veggies should be as the Italians would call it "al dente". This means that they will be cooked but still a bit firm so that they hold the texture. If you overbake them they will be too soft and probably release too much water that will interfere with the whole salad consistency.
Allow the veggies and bulgur to cool. I highly recommend you let the veggies and bulgur cool enough before mixing in with the rest of the ingredients. This will probably be about 20 minutes for each. If you mix them in while they are still hot or very warm chances are they fill heat the feta cheese and olives and the overall taste won't be as good.
Possible Summer Salad Variations
Use another grain. You don't need to use bulgur if you don't like it or have it at home. Some other grains that work good here are also cous-cous, millet or quinoa. Even pasta. But in that case use wholewheat.
Use another cheese. If you're watching your salt intake, or simply don't like the taste of feta cheese, you can substitute with another cheese of a similar consistency. Semi-hard goat's cheese would be my second choice here. But let me know which one you choose.
Use different spices. The proposed dressing for this salad includes just olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard. But this can only be your starting point. You can add some other spices or additions to it. I love using basil for my Mediterranean Summer Salad also. Either as fresh basil on top of the salad prior to serving or adding about half a teaspoon to the dressing.
Other Salad Recipes
Recipe
Mediterranean Summer Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 oz bulgur 120g
- 1 zucchini medium-sized
- 1 eggplant medium-sized
- 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3.5 oz feta cheese
- 10 olives
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt omit for babies under 1
- pepper
Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- Wash and cut the zucchini and eggplant into pieces about 1 cm thick. You can peel the skin of also if you wish. For baby-led weaning, peel the eggplant and zucchini and cut the veg the width and length of about 2 adult fingers stuck together. Omit the salt.
- Wash about half of the cherry tomatoes and cut in halves.
- Place the veggies into a mixing bowl, add the 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper and mix everything with your hands.
- Line an oven baking tin with parchment paper and place the veggies on the baking tin.
- Bake for about 30 minutes. Until soft but now overbaked (for baby-led weaning and pincer grasp you want them to be soft enough so you can mash them between your fingers).
- Meanwhile, place the bulgur in a roasting tin and add a cup of water and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the feta into cubes, olives into halves and the rest of the cherry tomatoes into halves. If the olives have a seed, remove it.
- Prepare the dressing - mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard.
- Once the veggies are baked, take out from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Place the cooled veggies into a serving bowl, add the feta, olives, fresh cherry tomatoes and cooled bulgur and mix with 2 salad spoons.
- Pour the dressing over the salad before serving.
Notes
Nutrition calculation is an estimate and is based on an adult serving of this meal.
How to serve to babies and toddlers?
-
Omit salt from the recipe
-
Baby-led Weaning
-
-
Baby-led weaning peel the zucchini and eggplant and cut into the width and length of two adult fingers stuck together
-
Serve with bulgur wheat on a preloaded spoon
-
Avoid feta, and olives and cherry tomatoes
-
-
9 months old+ (or whenever ready for pincer grasp)
-
-
Cut up eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes into bite size pieces or the same as for baby-led weaning
-
Serve bulgur on a preloaded spoon
-
Avoid feta and olives
-
-
Toddlers
-
-
serve the same as for parents but keep feta on the lower end because of high sodium amount
-
for picky eaters you can separate the ingredients like we did in the photo below
-
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