Okay, never mind the definition of "salad" -- where's the recipes?

Cafe Society
21

This one is great if you have any leftover simply seasoned steak leftovers from the 4th:

Just thin slice and marinate the leftover steak rather than searing a fresh cut. And you can sub in any animal protein you prefer and it’ll work reasonably well if beef is out of your price range right now. I’ve done it with chicken breast and pork tenderloin to good effect - it just doesn’t reflect the name of the dish accurately anymore.

[ those two choices because I feel the recipe works best with lean cuts - but I don’t see any reason why any firm protein wouldn’t work from slices of cooked tuna, swordfish, or even firm tofu that was well drained/squeezed ]

22

One of my favorites is cauliflower slaw. The basic idea is just fine-chopped cauliflower and mayonnaise, but you can add all sorts of other mix-ins. I like bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, peanuts, and celery seed.

Another great one is cucumber salad. Slice the cucumber, salt it, and let it sit for a couple of hours and then rinse it (this draws out some of the moisture). Then mix it with sour cream. It’s even better with fresh tomatoes and some chopped onions.

23

It’s funny - when I think “cucumber salad” my mind immediate goes to the Thai-style versions:

(yeah, I love Thai food, especially the spicy stuff)

Though the above version is much better with palm sugar, while dark brown sugar or piloncillo works better than table sugar. Just don’t use too much, I generally use about half what is called for above.

24

Anyone up for a (more or less) liquid “salad”?

Tangy Gazpacho Schematic (doesn’t really qualify as a recipe):

- 28-oz can crushed or pureed tomatoes (if diced or chopped, put thru blender), and one canful water

- 6-oz can tomato paste, and one canful water

- 1-2 Tbs of each of the following liquids, and more to taste if desired:

— olive oil

— lemon juice

— vinegar (red wine or balsamic)

- salt to taste

- fresh or dried savory herbs, emphasis on basil and oregano, with a bay leaf

- if using alliums: finely chopped onion, slivered garlic or ramps, and/or chopped scallions or chives

- core vegetables:

— diced fresh tomato

— diced seeded cucumber (slice in half longways and scrape out seeds with spoon before dicing)

—- some other diced crunchish fresh vegetable such as green beans, bell pepper, snow peas

- additional vegetables as desired, besides the above:

— chopped pea shoots and/or other sprouts/microgreens

— thinly sliced radish, daikon or similar

— a little celery

- not recommended:

— peas and other legume seeds

— carrots or corn

— mushrooms

— brassicas and lettuces

— eggplant and squashes

— potato, egg or cheese

The goal is a sort of tomato suspension of a chopped fresh salad that tastes bright and crunchy rather than earthy and starchy (or soggy). Add water (and/or finely grated cucumber) if too thick: it should be more soup than salsa.

Some people lean more toward the fruit end of the spectrum by adding chopped apples or grapes, which I don’t, but one can experiment! Some people put bread in it, which is traditional but I think kind of undermines the concept.

25

Cucumbers are great! A popular treat at our house when I was a child was what my Dad called “poor man’s pickles.” Take a cucumber and slice it. Put the cucumber slices in a bowl of white vinegar, and put it in the fridge for a few hours. And that’s it. When you serve them, perhaps as part of a relish tray, the cukes will have a nice tartness to them.

26

Oh, and I wasn’t thinking of it before because my brain was on summer mode, but my favorite salad (and one of my favorite foods period) is my family’s Easter dandelion salad:

1 grocery bag full of dandelion greens
4 hard-boiled eggs
1.5 potatoes, boiled
1 onion
1.5 lb bacon
6 oz apple cider vinegar
0.5 cup sugar

Pick the dandelion early in the spring, before it blooms. Clean the dandelion thoroughly (this is the most time-consuming part), and chop into pieces around an inch long. Dice the eggs, potatoes, and onion, and mix with the greens. Then, chop the bacon and fry it up, keeping the grease in the pan. When the bacon is fried, add in the vinegar and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the dressing, still hot, over the salad, stir or toss, and serve immediately. It’s also good cold and leftover, but it’s best at the first serving when the dressing is still hot.

Out of season, you can substitute endive for the dandelion, and for vegetarians, you can replace the bacon with any other saturated fat. But this is the best version.

27

Here’s my beet and bean salad. Proportions are relative and can be adjusted to taste/preference/availability:

1-2 cans of beets
1/2 can of chickpeas/garbanzo
sliced cucumber
artichoke hearts (I prefer marinated, but plain canned will work)
olives (any color or combination)
vinaigrette dressing.

I usually make the dressing from a 3:1 ratio of olive oil to red wine vinegar.

Add whatever additional herbs and seasonings you may have or like

Best chilled for at least a couple hours, preferred overnight in the fridge.

Not too elaborate and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Also easily dressed up, down, or varied.

28

When I started learning Russian, there was a dialog in my textbook about students feasting on herring, bread, and cucumbers. I was told all you have to do is slice the cukes open and salt the insides liberally. My teacher apparently loved the things.

29

What a great, seasonal thread.

Anyone have a good recipe for three-bean salad?

30

Now that sounds like a great cooling salad for the hot summer time. I can see chilling it (minus the tender herbs) for a few hours to get it icy cold and add the herbs barely before serving. I did one similar to this one year with home grow Thai basil and it was very flavorful. I have a sauce I use for gyros that uses the juice from cucumbers, not the fruit itself like tzatziki, so this might be a fun prelude to that.

31

Traditional Cobb salad, Brown Derby style, for four.

  • 1 head Romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 5 oz. package spring mix
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 strips bacon
  • 1 large avocado, pitted and chopped
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 stalks green onions, chopped
  • 8 oz. Roquefort cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbls. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. Colman’s mustard powder
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 3 cups vegetable oil
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Pepper

For the dressing: combine the sugar, 1 tbls. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, mustard, and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a mortar and pestle if you want the garlic especially mixed in. Add 1 cup water, vinegar, oils, and lemon juice, and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For hardboiled eggs, place eggs in a saucepan. Add cold water until just barely covered. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and let stand 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Peel and chop.

Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels and chop.

Use the flat side of a kitchen mallet to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly oil a skillet and warm over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Let cool and chop.

Combine the Romaine and spring mix in a large bowl. Add as much of the dressing as you like and toss to mix.

Portion the dressed lettuce into a bowl or large plate. Add the toppings in wedges, each covering one-seventh of the plate, in order; chicken, green onions, blue cheese, tomato, bacon, egg, avocado, and serve, allowing diners to mix if desired.

This is my favorite entree salad. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll buy grilled chicken strips.

32

I don’t have the right recipe for it but am trying to copy cat the chipotle sweet potato salad with ancho chilies that used to be made at a now defunct barbecue restaurant.

I used to order it as often as I could, it had cubes of sweet potatoes, red and blue baby potatoes cut in small cubes, just tender but not overcooked. It had cilantro , red bell pepper chopped, and chipotle chilies en adobo, so you want that sauce, not the dry chipotle powder. It had very small amounts of corn, probably roasted on their grill but I think off the leftover corn on the cob should work, and small amounts of black beans. It was amazingly flavorful, and I feel I am forgetting something. I guess it must have had a limed and adobo-d mayo to tie them all together. I liked it even better the next day, well chilled and it married all the flavors. I was going to make it tonight so now I need to put those cooked sweet potatoes back in the fridge as it is past 11pm and my dinner was the dill salad from Trader Joes with a side of rotisserie chicken. That sweet potato salad is online all over in various permutations but I don’t know how they all stack up, I recall the one at the restaurant was mildly spicy but you would be able to change that by adding minced chipotle chilies according to tastes. There is a link to a video that looks very like it but I don’t know if that is allowed.