My daughter served a tasty salad the other night.
romaine
small orange slices
thinly sliced red onion
thinly sliced fennel
toasted almond slivers
Small cubes of ricotta salata cheese browned in olive oil and tossed in warm
The dressing was a vinaigrette and tasted as if she’d used some citrus juice in it. Very light and refreshing.
A dash of poppy seeds is good in green salad. Especially if you’re using some fruit in it.
Make your dressing and tart up your salad in one easy step. Grab some Italian style antipasto in oil - mushrooms, beans, tuna, char grilled peppers, stuffed olives, marinated feta. Poor off some oil if necessary. Add a little acidity - citrus juice, vinegar (rice vinegar is gentle) or preferably verjuice (the God of acid agents), shake up and dump over the salad. Great if all you have is a pile of leaves.
For the dressing we usually have a good EVOO or EVOO and balsamic vinegar. We also enjoy some sharp , aged cheese (take your pick) along with almonds (toasted or otherwise).
For a “raw” salad my ingredients are usually:
green lettuce
red lettuce
broccoli rabe or broccoli
zucchini
cremini mushrooms
tomatoes
dried apricots
olives (take your pick - don’t forget the pits)
avocado
cheese (see above)
red peppers
salt and pepper to taste
For a “grilled” salad:
zucchini
squash (be careful and don’t over grill as they become really mushy)
portabello mushrooms
red peppers
onions (preferably Walla Walla sweet)
with (not grilled) the olives, cheese, salt, pepper, and dressing.
Enjoy - BTW, we usually have salads 4-6 days each week!
In no particular order:
shredded fresh (raw) beets
radish seed pods – tastes like radishes
sorrel
fresh basil
arugula
crumbled goat cheese
walnuts or almonds, candied or not
thin pear slices
berries: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries
If your ingredients are flavorful enough, all you really need in terms of dressing is a couple splashes of lemon or lime juice. Or try Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette. Low-fat/low-cal by using pear puree in place of the oil, instead of high-fructose corn syrup. It’s an utterly brilliant idea, and very very yummy.