A salad makes a great complement to any meal… even breakfast! A salad is also a fantastic and convenient way to get some raw fruits and veggies, which are much healthier than when cooked.
Rather than posting a variety of salad recipes, I thought I’d make a post on the general concept of putting together a simple salad. Using the thoughts below, you can make about a thousand different salads, all of which will taste great and add a healthy note to your meal.
The key to any good salad is finding the right mix of ingredients. And luckily, that’s easy. All you need are some greens, fruits, nuts, a little cheese and dressing. Technically, you don’t even need all of that. Just greens and dressing can give you a lovely salad. But adding just a few other simple ingredients really brings salads to life.
Beyond greens, fruits, nuts and cheese, the sky’s the limit with what else you can add. Aromatics, veggies, meats, bread, etc. But unless you’re in the mood for an entrée salad, I think the most beautiful salads of all are always simplistic and with bright flavors. So I recommend staying away from things like bacon and bread. Save those items for a BLT.
If you simply choose one item from each of the four lists below, you’ll automatically have a fantastic salad. And by mixing and matching, you can actually create 896 different salads from these ingredients.
Greens (healthy and adds a bitterness that will be balanced by the other items):
- Arugula
- Spinach
- Romaine
- Raddichio
- Endive
- Bibb/Butter
- Iceberg (only if you really need to… great texture, but boring)
Fruit (More health, adding brightness and a sweet or sour note):
- Strawberries (slice or quarter if large)
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Sliced Pears
- Sliced Star Fruit
- Diced Pineapple
- Pomegranate Seeds
Nuts (another healthy item, adding earthy depth):
- Pine Nuts
- Spiced Pecans
- Pepitas (toast them first, if raw)
- Sunflower Seeds
Cheese (the healthfulness can be debated, but either way, this adds a creamy richness that replaces creamy dressings):
- Goat Cheese (honey goat cheese is fantastic)
- Blue Cheese (any variety will work well)
- Brie (a good choice, but the rind (which is meant to be eaten) adds a texture that’s not exactly perfect for the best salads)
- Fresh Mozzarella (look for mozzarella di bufala… it’s extra rich)
So there you have it… about a thousand almost complete salad combinations. We’re just missing one thing… the dressing. Here are some important things to note about dressing your salad:
- Throw away all of your store-bought dressings. Making your own is quick, easy and healthy.
- Forget about creamy dressings. We have cheese to offer the creaminess. Every great dressing ever made is a vinaigrette.
- You’re going to mix an acid (any type of vinegar or citrus) with oil, and then add some flavorings if desired. Generally, plan on one part acid to three parts oil, but you can experiment with this and find your favorite balance.
- Here’s the most important part… most homemade salads have way too much dressing. Your goal is to just barely coat the greens.
- To start basic, try a simple vinegar like apple cider or sherry or even white combined with a good olive oil. For the most basic dressing, that’s all you need, seasoned with a little salt and pepper.
- To take things further, add a little sweetness if your greens are very bitter (like radicchio). You can add honey, agave nectar, or even maple syrup.
- From there, you can add finely diced or shredded shallot, spices such as celery seed or poppy seed, or anything else that comes to mind.
- Finally, when you have your dressing ingredients together, you need to emulsify the ingredients (fancy word for mix together). One easy one to do this is to put all the ingredients in a glass, cover very tightly with cling wrap and then shake like crazy for about 20 seconds.
- After emulsifying, toss the greens with about 1/3 of the dressing that you think you need. You can always add more if it doesn’t coat. But I think you’ll find that a little vinaigrette can go a long way (and a lot will turn your salad into soup).
- Finally, after tossing the greens in the dressing, add the fruits, nuts and cheese and toss lightly to mix. Or alternatively, plate the greens and then add the toppings to each plate.
I’d love to see comments below with your particular recipe and whether you liked it.
P.s. The photo at the top shows an arugula salad with honey goat cheese and first of season blueberries. I paired this salad with my Chanterelle Soup recipe and some asiago crostini.