Salad (2011 - 2015)

[Fat Guy]

The other day I was making a salad and I thought, hey, that looks kind of cool. I took a photo of it, and of the two other salads I made that day. On most of the days when I prepare dinner for our little family of three I make three different salads: one for our 5-year-old son, containing no lettuce (so it is basically a raw-vegetable plate), one big one for my wife that includes a protein like tofu (because this may be the only protein she eats), and a medium-size one for me.

Anyway, I figured it might be interesting to start chronicling our salads. I know I'm starting to feel like mine are a bit repeptitive, so maybe this will lead to some inspiration.

The salads shown here are undressed. While I acknowledge the superiority of tossed salads with dressing, my family prefers to drizzle balsamic vinegar and other non-fattening stuff, so I go along with that.

Here are the last few. I'll try to get in the habit of photographing them whenever I'm the cook at home.

[rarerollingobject]

Great idea for a thread! I do love a good salad and am always looking for ideas, so look forward to seeing other people's inspirations here.

Here's a recent one I really enjoyed, with black figs, rocket, proscuitto, gorgonzola and walnuts.

[heidih]

I will play along as we approach warm times and salad calls. Looking forward to inspiration.

[dcarch]

I love salads with edible flowers

dcarch

[heidih]

dcarch - can you give us an overview of the flowers used please?

[rebecca]

Two favorite salads, but i warn you- i prefer them very simple:

Dressing of either goat cheese or yogurt mixed with a little mustard, olive oil, cider vinegar and s&p, on lettuce and arugula with good (preferably home-made) croutons.

Simple olive oil, red wine vinegar and s&p on lettuce and good tomatoes with my mothers four magic herbs: parsley, mint, basil and tarragon. The parsley and mint make the salad taste so refreshing that it is like an iced beverage on the warmest of summer days

Of course i am also a fan of any salad that has both avocado and walnuts. That is a lovely pair!

Edited March 16, 2011 by rebecca (log)

[Jenni]

Wow, this is a beautiful thread already!

My go to salad is half relish half salad. Chopped tomato, onion, cucumber and sometimes radish, tossed with lemon juice, ground and roasted cumin, chilli powder, chopped fresh coriander (and fresh mint sometimes) black pepper and salt. Oil in the dressing is optional.

Another very frequent salad is any combination of carrot, cucumber, radish, tomato, courgette or other good salad vegetable (alone or mixed - I either finely chop or grate all veggies) with a tadka of mustard, urad dal, asafetida, dried or fresh chillies and curry leaves. Salt to taste. With courgettes I usually lightly fry them in the tadka, sometimes do the same with carrots. This is particularly delicious with curd chillies, they add such an amazing smokiness.

[BeeZee]

I like incorporating avocado into my salad, usually with something acidic (oranges, tomatoes), it kind of mushes in to create it's own dressing...so I can keep the use of additional oil to a minimum, usually prefer to use a flavorful vinegar.

[Darienne]

This topic for me should be called ‘Salads: 2009 & 2010 Reprise’.

Over the last two years I have collected a good number of wonderful salads, lots of ‘company’ salads among them. Firstly,we eat only salads for supper every second night. And we put on our Annual Dog Weekend for which I need massive quantities of food. Many eGers have helped me over the past two years with salads.

Calipoutine sent me the very best Bean Salad. Cathy, as in What Would Cathy Eat? has provided several, my favorite being her ‘Tangy Quinoa Salad’. Other favorites from somewhere are: ‘Marinated Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad’, ‘Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad’, ‘Carrot, Walnut & Dried Cranberry Coleslaw’.

Old favorites are Taboulleh from Roden (no tomatoes, pul-eeze) and an untitled ‘Chickpea and Grape Tomato Salad’ which I have been making for decades now.

Wait, I do have a new entry and probably this summer’s go-to salad. It’s my own amalgam of several salads each of which contain two or more of the following (but none all): corn niblets, black beans, potatoes and Poblanos (plus onions, etc).

Because I print out my recipes without sources (I’ve got to stop doing that) I can’t give most of the above salads’ websites and I can’t print them online. I will PM any of the salad recipes however.

[merstar]

Some of my favorites: (I tweak 'em all, of course

CURRIED COUSCOUS SALAD WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000226616

PACIFIC-RIM CAESAR SALAD

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105973

THAI CUCUMBER SALAD

http://www.recipezaar.com/93536

CITRUS GREEN BEAN SALAD

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/salad/citrus_green_bean_salad_recipe.html

THAI-STYLE PASTA SALAD

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/7270?section=

SALADE DE CONCOMBRES ET CHEVRE (CUCUMBER AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD)

From Pierre Franey's "Cooking In France"

CARROT, ORANGE, AND RADISH SALAD

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/africa/morocco/carrot-orange-radish-salad1.html

CARROT RAPEE

http://www.eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=17&msgid=6

[Chris Hennes]

So, to me, this:

is straining the definition of "salad," no? I mean, I'm not saying it's not tasty. But "salad"? I dunno, when does it stop being a salad and start being "a few independent items on a plate"?

[heidih]

We have discussed the definition of salad before in this topic. I take the position that I know one when I see one and I think the "items on a plate" can squeeze into my view of salad.

[Chris Hennes]

I know it's sort of perverse, but in my view that might become a salad if Fat Guy had just pushed them closer together on the plate. As it is, it's more like an antipasto platter or something.

[Fat Guy]

I guess it's sort of on the boundary between a composed salad and a crudite platter. I mostly include it in the salad grouping because when I make that platter for our son it acts as the salad course and is made with the same ingredients as the grownup salads, minus the lettuce, and catering to the not-unusual-in-a-child desire to have the ingredients not touch. If somebody just gave me that platter out of context I'd probably call it something else.

I still haven't internalized my salad photography routine. I made a pretty nice one tonight for company, with little mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes, arugula, beets and a mustard vinaigrette, but in the end-of-preparation rush it totally slipped my mind to photograph it.

[dcarch]

dcarch - can you give us an overview of the flowers used please?

The first plate is Hosta blossoms

The second plate is Daylily blossoms

The third one I forgot. They grow wild on my lawn.

dcarch

[OliverB]

I hope this thread will live for a while, I'm always looking for fun salads! I don't have any pictures though.

Two of my regular go to salads are:

*

Arugula drizzled with some olive oil, either red wine, sherry, or balsamic vinegar, s&p and sometimes a pinch of sugar. If I have them, I'll throw a handful of cherry tomatoes in there too. This might also include cubed cucumber, sliced fennel, pine nuts or other nuts, depending on what it's being served with. But it's very quick and easy to make last minute and I love the taste of arugula with just about anything.

*

Sliced Nappa cabbage (and red cabbage if I have some) which gets dressed with olive oil and/or sesame oil. Vinegar is either seasoned rice vinegar or red wine, s&p and a pinch of sugar at times. Tomatoes might fly in there again, and maybe even a couple leaves of arugula or basil if I have them. Dressing again to go along with the rest of the food.

=====

In summer, caprese is our go to Sunday lunch, with fresh tomatoes and basil from the market, basil, olive oil and balsamic, s&p, fresh mozzarella and a nice fresh bread. I can't wait! And the whole family loves it, the kids compete with me on who gets to eat the sauce out of the bowl. They usually win :-)

I might also make a bag of "herb salad", which is a nice mix of salad greens with some herbs thrown in. That might also include any of the above ingredients, maybe mushrooms, sun dried tomato, and might serve as a bed for some kind of protein or eggs.

The kids usually pick what they want out of the lot, and what that is changes on a daily basis.

[rarerollingobject]

I make salads for dinner most nights, and post them in the Dinner thread, so I'll try not to cross post too much - but here's a salad I made a few nights ago and really enjoyed.

It's an Ina Garten recipe, butternut squash roasted in maple syrup, mixed with walnuts, cranberries, rocket, and grated parmesan. Doused in a warm vinaigrette of apple cider, Dijon mustard, minced shallot and cider vinegar. (And garnished with a sous vide fillet steak, naturally! )

Edited March 17, 2011 by rarerollingobject (log)

[Kim Shook]

rarerollingobject – that first one you posted is an especially gorgeous salad and I am SO stealing that combination! With what did you dress it?

This is a good idea for a topic. We eat a LOT of salads and I need some inspiration! I am so tired of the same old salads. I’ve been enamoured recently of extremely thinly sliced romaine tossed with a simple vinaigrette and piled up on a salad plate. But usually I could post pictures of the last 10 salads that I've made and anyone would swear that they were of the same salad. Actually, last night’s WAS a little different:

Sliced cucumbers and radishes with rice wine vinegar and black salt.

[eternal]

I love rocket. Why isn't it found in every grocery store? I shouldn't have to go to the specialty grocery store

[bwv544]

jicama, tomato, green mango, cucumber sometimes, red onion (or sometimes cooked yellow onions instead, totally different flavor i know) cilantro

dressing: fish sauce, chiles, lime juice, palm sugar, cilantro

sometimes steak, sometimes chicken, sometimes plain

steak or chicken is brushed with powdered shiitake mushrooms and hoisin sauce and then grilled.

[SobaAddict70]

In a few weeks, asparagus and ramps will be available at the Greenmarket, then I can look forward to something like this:

Warm asparagus salad with bacon and poached farm egg

Roasted wild asparagus, poached egg and Parmesan cheese

Recipes on the blog. The portions are sized for one so you'll have to experiment a little to find proportions that work best for you.

Right now I'm experimenting with a salad that combines mushrooms, brussel sprouts and purple potatoes. Won't that be interesting? LOL.

[Toliver]

So, to me, this:

is straining the definition of "salad," no? I mean, I'm not saying it's not tasty. But "salad"? I dunno, when does it stop being a salad and start being "a few independent items on a plate"?

That's pert near a greek salad. Just add olives and some onion and there you go.

[rarerollingobject]

rarerollingobject – that first one you posted is an especially gorgeous salad and I am SO stealing that combination! With what did you dress it?

Thanks, Kim Shook! That one was dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, with a few drops of a very rich and thick fig vino cotto (similar to balsamic). Anyone else get lazy like I do, and drizzle the oil and acid etc directly onto the salad and toss?? (versus properly emulsifying with a whisk or by shaking in a jar, I mean).

I love rocket. Why isn't it found in every grocery store? I shouldn't have to go to the specialty grocery store

Hmm, in Seattle? Surprising. Here in Sydney, rocket is pretty ubiquitous in every supermarket. Though the quality does range from the stuff that has the taste and texture of dry grass clippings, right up to my favourite, the tender large leaf rocket more commonly sold in bunches with their roots and found in the herb section than the salad section.

[rarerollingobject]

Another nice one; a chopped salad of smoked chicken, celery, minced shallot, walnuts, cranberries, and purple grapes. Greek yoghurt and tarragon vinegar dressing, with a bit of mayo for a rich mouthfeel and seasoned with celery salt and pepper.

On baby spinach!

[ruthcooks]

I am more apt to eat "salad for dinner" than a "dinner salad". Here are the ingredients I use, with the most usual ones listed first in each category:

Greens: romaine, leaf/butter/Boston/Bibb lettuce, spinach

Fruit: grapes, orange/Clementine sections, pears, apples, strawberries

Dried fruit: cranberries, raisins

Cheese: feta crumbles, blue cheese crumbles, grated cheddar, Parmesan

Nuts/seeds: sunflower kernels, pine nuts, almonds, other nuts

Green Onions

Dressings: Sweet Lemon Garlic, vinegar and oil

A totally different green salad I like combines spinach, romaine, red onion, chopped eggs, bacon, cherry tomatoes and homemade croutons with Blue Cheese Dressing or Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing.

Or this one: romaine, celery, green onions, parsley, mandarin oranges, sugar-glazed almonds and a sweet vinegar dressing.

Other favorites include Wilted Lettuce with Bacon, Waldorf, Marinated Cukes and Onions, and I could positively live on Panzanella during tomato season.

You can probably see that I like sweet salads! I think every combination of food needs something sweet, and my favorite way to include that element is in the salad.