I don’t really cook much, and I’ve never come up with a recipe for *anything *in my life. But, I really like vegetables, so I decided to make up an unusual salad recipe. I figure it will be tasty and refreshing on hot summer days. So far I’ve got:
[ul]
[li]lots of shredded red cabbage[/li][li]diced beefsteak tomato[/li][li]green pepper slices[/li][li]peeled and diced cucumber[/li][li]cubed colby jack cheese[/li][li]Italian dressing[/li][/ul]How does that sound? Would you recommend adding something to it? Iceberg lettuce is right out, that’s what the cabbage is for–I think lettuce is dumb because it doesn’t taste like anything. Also, I’ve never eaten raw zucchini, only cooked. I *really *like it cooked, though (cooked cabbage too, I have a big thing for bitter foods). How would zucchini work in this? Do different colors of zucchini have perceptibly different flavors?
Thanks for any tips! I know it’s just salad and I probably sound like a dopey-two-shoes, but I’ve never been great shakes in the kitchen. Baby steps, you know! Salad today, creme brulee tomorrow. Or um, next year maybe.
I don’t see why you couldn’t cook the zucchini (grilling it is nice) and then add the cooked veggie to the raw everything-else. I’ve never found much flavor difference between green zucchini and yellow summer squash. Maybe the green zucchini has a slightly stronger squash-y flavor.
I only like cooked carrots, not raw ones. But radishes are an excellent suggestion, thanks! What does “cottony” mean, though? Like, dry?
I’m looking to keep this dish simple and chilled, something that can be tossed together without turning on the stovetop on hot summer days. I don’t have a grill (and don’t know how to grill, either), so cooked veggies are out.
I love raw zucchini, but I don’t think it would work well here with the cabbage. (And there’s plenty of lettuces that have flavor to them, although not iceberg. Iceberg has its place, though.)
Do you like hardboiled eggs? That might work well as a little bit of protein. Otherwise, I agree with the radish suggestion.
Depending on your proportions and how you prepare (cut) the veggies, you’re pretty darned close to making a type of Israeli salad.
The tomato-and-cucumber part is the most identifying characteristic of Israeli salad, but there are versions with shredded cabbage. I’m most used to encountering it in the version pictured in that Wikipedia link.
It’s kind of a weird salad to tell you the truth. You have sliced things and diced things which will be tough to mix well: the diced tomatoes will probably fall apart as you toss it. And Colby cheese seems an odd thing to add in there. With diced tomatoes, cucumber, and green pepper you have the start of a nice Greek salad-ish dish. Feta is the usual thing thing to add. I think something with that sort of texture would be better in a salad. Raw zucchini has very little flavor. Grilling it as other posters have suggested would make a nice addition.
