"I just want to focus on my salad."

[Jaymes]

"I just want to focus on my salad."

Don't we all, Martha, don't we all......

So: What do you toss into your tossed lettuce salads? Tomatoes? Onions? Something crunchy maybe....green peppers, celery, carrots, water chestnuts, nuts? Vegetables.....green beans, pintos, limas, corn? Meat....bacon, ham? Cheeses? Something luxurious....artichoke hearts, avocados?

And what types of lettuce?

Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

And when guests are at the door and I'm in a hurry....a can of Three Bean Salad, tossed with lettuce. Speedy, tasty.

What are your faves?

[Stone]

Someone once made me a salad with dried ramen noodles broken up in it. They were surprisingly good. Not at all what I expected.

[bellaS.F.]

Blue cheese, toasted walnuts (sometimes carmelized), and purple onion.

homemade garlic croutons

oven-roasted asparagus, curls of Parm., thin slices of proscuitto, Kosher salt, pepper, a good olive oil, and lemon juice (this one doesn't even need the lettuce)

arugula, sauteed pears, blue cheese, purple onion

[Blue Heron]

Lettuce Salad garnished with hard boiled egg wedges, asparagus, olives, tomato wedges, sliced cucumber, green onions, avocado, and topped with fresh Dungeness Crab or Oregon baby shrimp.

Additional things I sometimes like to throw on a salad are sliced mushrooms, sliced radishes, finely shredded mozzarella cheese, or parmesan, croutons.

I also like to top a Caesar Salad with Blackened Salmon or Grilled Prawns.

Cobb Salads are terrific, too.

[Fat Guy]

The most important thing is a good vinaigrette, added in just the right quantity and tossed so that it forms a thin film over every leaf without any additional residue. Once you have that, you'll naturally gravitate away from adding very much to the base of greens.

The other most important thing is the greens. Mixing several kinds works well. I'd rule out iceberg, and I'd rule out pre-mixed mesclun unless it is from a superb source. A mixture of Boston, red leaf, and some sort of bitter green like arugula provides nice counterpoint. Fresh herbs are a plus, in small quantities.

When pouring on the ingredients, the thing to remember is counterpoint of flavor and texture. As mentioned above, crumbled blue cheese is nice when paired with something crunchy (I like pistachios) and something sweet (dried cranberries are a favorite). I don't like too much sweet in my salad, though.

[LaNiña]

My favorite salad in the world is mache, thinly sliced radishes, and a classic vinaigrette made with NOT VIRGIN olive oil, and red wine vinegar, NOT balsamic.

[mamster]

I brought a salad to a party the other day; it was red-leaf lettuce with small chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano, toasted pine nuts, and balsamic vinaigrette. Very simple and delicious. I based it on a salad Laurie and I always get at our neighborhood Italian restaurant that's basically the same but with frisee and crisped prosciutto. But there were vegetarians at the party, and we had pine nuts in the fridge.

[Blue Heron]

The most important thing is a good vinaigrette, added in just the right quantity and tossed so that it forms a thin film over every leaf without any additional residue. Once you have that, you'll naturally gravitate away from adding very much to the base of greens.

For me it also depends if I'm making a salad as a starter for part of a bigger meal, in which case a simple salad is perfect, or if the salad is the meal itself, in which case I like lots of goodies in it, as I described above. I often will make just a salad for lunch or dinner with maybe a slice of bread or a roll. I also love spinach salads...and like Nina, I love mache salads, too, and grow mache (nussli) in my garden.

Steven, what do you put in your vinaigrette and in what proportions?

[Andy Lynes]

My favorite salad in the world is mache, thinly sliced radishes, and a classic vinaigrette made with NOT VIRGIN olive oil, and red wine vinegar, NOT balsamic.

With you on the balsamic, but why not virgin? Do you find the flavour overpowering?

[Fat Guy]

Nina: If EVOO doesn't give the desired salad-dressing results, you might want to shift to grapeseed oil. It has a very clean taste and texture that many people prefer for vinaigrettes. I don't like using crap olive-oil in raw applications.

BH: No proportions. I put some vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl and I drizzle the oil in while whisking. I taste occasionally until I have it right, though if I'm using familiar ingredients over the course of a few attempts I become able to tell by sight when it's properly balanced, and I might adjust seasoning at the end (bearing in mind that I might grind a little fresh pepper and sprinkle a little fleur de sel into the salad when tossing). I never measure. I get the feeling, however, that I use a higher proportion of vinegar than the classic French texts recommend -- that's just my palate. I'm happy with any combination of high-quality oils and vinegars, though my default is EVOO and red wine vinegar. There are levels of balsamic and while the $2.99 bottles simply produce a sweet vinaigrette the better products can yield nice dressings. Sometimes the best move is a base of red wine vinegar plus a few drops of balsamic (though I wouldn't waste real balsamico tradizionale this way, it's a good use of the higher-end phony stuff). I've also been known to add a bit of mustard (either dry, or very strong smooth Dijon) to a vinaigrette for a change of pace. Even when having a salad meal, I often prefer to keep the cheese/meat-type ingredients separate from the greens and compose each forkful as I like it.

[Jon Tseng]

classic bistro salad... frisee, vinaigrette, lardons (have to be thick cut), croutons (fried or baked in oil - none of this toasted malarky) and a poached egg... has to be a poached egg...

and for the "loaded" version (read sunday morning hung over) add chorizo, chunks of fried black pudding, shreds of mozarella (raw) and a honey-mustard vinaigrette. the principle is to make such the greenery is outnumbered the other bits at least three to one.

come to think of it, maple syrup might be quite nice in the vinaigrette instead of honey

there! who said salads had to be healthy!

cheerio

j

[mhadam]

a great lunch salad: romaine leafs rolled up and cut in half lengthwise then sliced fairly thin, with cucumber (diced medium sized, skin on), a splash of vidalia onion dressing, a crank of black pepper and 3 or 4 small pieces of kasseri cheese -- the great blend of crunch with sweet with a strong cheese -- nothing overpowers

and my all time favorite salad, not made with lettuce: cucumbers sliced very thin on a mandeline (no skin) mixed with fresh black pepper, dash of salt, tsp of sugar, tbs or so of sour cream and lots of fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped roughly....stir, let rest for 5 minutes and eat cold... it's great with cutlets and potatoes with a mushroom sauce

[LaNiña]

Nina: If EVOO doesn't give the desired salad-dressing results, you might want to shift to grapeseed oil. It has a very clean taste and texture that many people prefer for vinaigrettes. I don't like using crap olive-oil in raw applications.

Sometimes I use canola oil and a little walnut oil - that may be my favorite. Although I do use non-virgin olive oil too...I'll try the grapeseed.

[Sandra Levine]

For me it also depends if I'm making a salad as a starter for part of a bigger meal

Steven, what do you put in your vinaigrette and in what proportions?

[spqr]

My fave basic salad:

I use a mix of curly endive and romaine as the base. I chop up a few scallions and toss them in. I then peel and chunk up a tart apple - Granny Smiths can't be beat. The vinaigrette is good olive oil and cider vinegar, salt and pepper. I too like my vinaigrettes to be on the vinegary side, contrary to what the textbooks say.

[tommy]

what do i like in my salad???

DUCK. meat and skin.

[bushey]

Someone once made me a salad with dried ramen noodles broken up in it.  They were surprisingly good.  Not at all what I expected.

Try the ramen noodles on a salad of mesclun greens with slivers of bartlett or Asian pear and a balsamic vinaigrette. It's delicious. Our caterer suggested it for our daughter's bat mitzvah and it got rave reviews (plus I got a new recipe!)

"come to think of it, maple syrup might be quite nice in the vinaigrette instead of honey"

Jon -- I sometimes use a drop of real maple syrup in my balsamic vinaigrette, and a touch of dijon mustard, when I'm in the mood for more of a sweet-sour type of dressing.

Mixed greens with sliced beets and small wedges of camembert, dressed with a Sherry vinaigrette.

Basic greek salad (romaine and crunchy vegetables topped with feta cheese) with lots of chopped fresh herbs on top and a lemon-olive oil-garlic-oregano-pinch of sugar dressing. Can't seem to find the right kind of bottled "greek" dressing.

We have a friend who throws together the most amazing salads with dried cherries or cranberries, pistachios, mandarin oranges.....whatever she feels like.....and they always taste great.

[APPS411]

mixed baby greens, toasted chopped hazelnuts, dried cherries, balsalmic vinaigrette w/ some rehydrated cherries pureed into it, topped w/ crumbled maytag blue cheese.

peppery arugula, lightly sauteed pears, toasted walnuts, paper thin slivered vidalia onions, large homade croutons, tangy red whine vinaigrette. And maybe some bit of grated blue cheese on top (I love that stuff)

Greens, sweet lightly pickled shedded carrots and jicama (pickled in cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, lemon), slivered onions, chopped roasted peanuts, Thai peanut sauce (peanut butter, tamari, lime juice, sirachi), w/ toasted sessame seeds.

[CathyL]

Our default is romaine, radicchio, endive, sliced raw mushrooms and sweet onion. I like a little Dijon mustard in vinaigrette to emulsify it, and lately I've been using sherry vinegar a lot. Often I mince a shallot and let it macerate in the vinegar before finishing the dressing.

I love a mix of greens with walnut oil, crumbled blue cheese and toasted walnuts.

Sometimes (ok, often) I buy pre-packaged greens from EarthBound Farms.

[lullyloo]

Oh I'm so glad someone started this thread. I've been meaning to for a long time. Everyday for lunch I take a big salad of either red leaf lettuce or romaine (also went through a spinach phase), vidalia onion, sometimes also scallion, always radish, pickling cukes, sometimes tomato or avocado or red pepper, and albacore tuna. Had the tuna once in Spain just flaked into a simple salad with a lettuce, tomato, cuke and onion, OO and vinegar and it was delish. The mama tossed it with her hands. yummm.

I am not opposed to iceberg at all. In big cold chunks it is sweet and refreshing. I especially like it the way they serve it in old-school steakhouses in a big wedge with roquefort or blue cheese dressing.

At home I always make my own vinegrette with a smidge over one half EVOO and one half red wine or cider vinegar, sometimes a drop of cheap balsamic to add a little sweet, sometimes lemon, dijon mustard. Always dried oregano, salt, pepper. And my favorite - SPIKE! (a spice mix far superior to Mrs. Dash) Anyone else a closet spike fan? Lately I've been experimenting with anchovy vinagrette in my mini-chopper.

But really if I didn't have budgetary restrictions I'd always eat arugula with toasted pine nuts and some sort of cheese - hard, soft, stinky, creamy, whatever.

All summer long I've been keeping a big container of pickled beets with vidalias in the refrigerator. Very refreshing. Went through a chopped red cabbage with vinagrett phase (gasp! no not the requisite strands you find in midwestern mixed salad but larger crunchy pieces) which I picked up from an Israeli friend.

Also go in big for adding apple or pear (usually in the winter, though) and cilantro and making a dressing with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, vietnamese chili sauce and rice vinegar.

[bigbear]

Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

Yes... and blueberies, apples, strawberries and so on. Salads are a good place for an unexpected ingredient.

[rich]

One of my favorite salad combinations include mangoes and arugula. The contrast plays havoc with the taste buds. A simple dressing is best - EVOO and a splash of sherry vinegar. Cold plates and forks a must.

[LaNiña]

I'm in love with a salad from "Fusion Food Cookbook" by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. It's called something like salad with candied walnuts and goat cheese. It's a major hit whenever I make it.

I can't post it, right?

[SobaAddict70]

NOT VIRGIN olive oil, and red wine vinegar, NOT balsamic.

Yay for Nina! Finally someone other than myself who thinks that a cardinal sin of cooking is overuse of something like EVOO and balsamic vinegar.

Seriously folks, EVOO and balsamic are special things, like white truffle oil. Sometimes plain old white vinegar and OO will work just fine.

I thought I was all alone in the world...

SA

[CathyL]

I'm in love with a salad from "Fusion Food Cookbook" by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison.  It's called something like salad with candied walnuts and goat cheese.  It's a major hit whenever I make it. 

I can't post it, right?

Is it okay to paraphrase a recipe rather than post it verbatim? That sounds SO good.