I'm a believer in simple honest goodness with big hearted flavour. I have always skirted the periphery looking for glimmers of truth and beauty. I tend to stay away from the meddled middles of things where there's a lot of shake and bake, and puffed up personalities, and talk is cheap.
I also find salad bars a bit repulsive. I don't see how some stale oily croutons with a bit of crusted-over three bean salad and a dollop of mayo-laden tuna salad with a sprinkle of bacon bits on top of some shriveled baby spinach can be called anything but a dog's breakfast. Call me a purist but I believe salads are meant to be composed of ingredients that are not only complimentary to one another but are also simplified in essence to allow everything to fall into easy harmony. Things can still taste zingy and wowzer, but it shouldn't be a full on smorgasbord.
I like to throw together a few basics to get a salad going and it often depends on what I have on hand rather than what I need to go out and purchase. If you keep a relatively well stocked fridge, making lunches like these will be a cinch.
Things I always keep around: sugar snap peas, jars of nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, black and white sesame seeds, almonds, cashews), jars of dried fruit (cranberries, currants, apricots, figs), radishes or kholrabi or daikon, grape tomatoes, beets/beet greens, bags of carrots (whole, not baby), yams, bags of washed lettuce (romaine, leaf, endive, escarole, radicchio -- never the baby lettuces, too tender, too wimpy in flavour, not enough robustness to carry other ingredients, let alone a dense dressing), jars of dried beans (garbanzo, small navy, du puy lentils, black, adzuki), tins of tuna in water, whatever is seasonal at the market - salad turnips, heirloom anything, cukes, corn, green beans, aasparagus... and always clusters of whatever herbs look good depending on whatever season it is: parsley, mint, basil, tarragon are my favourites with thyme and oregano close follow ups. Not a big cilantro fan, unless it's chopped densely and added to an Asian slaw. I don't keep a ton of cheese on hand but I always have Parmesan and feta.
In the freezer I always keep on hand edamame, the wee green peas, kernal corn. In the pantry there are 5 different kinds of vinegar (red balsamic, white balsamic, white wine, tarragon / champagne, apple cider) and 3 different kinds of olive oil (light, extra virgin, fruity). I have a total love-in for mustard and keep several bottles of varying eccentric pedigree rattling around my fridge.
These are the building blocks of your salads. They are the foundation you gently keep adding to. They are the essence of what eventually you decorate with your own flair. It's about discovering what you love and then finding ways to keep it around.
Salad #8 begins with chopped radishes, sunflower seeds, cracked briny green olives, and sweet grape tomatoes. I tossed in delicate bits of arugula and rugged hearts of romaine and dressed with a lemony vinaigrette and some crumbled feta.
Salad #9 begins with simultaneously steamed edamame and asparagus spears and cauliflower florets which were drained and tossed in a creamy herb vinaigrette. Everything is still warm and it just soaks up the dressing. Deeelicious!
Salad #10 begins with grated brussels sprouts and garbanzo beans cooked in a vegetable broth giving them a bit of sweetness and complexity. A little bit of sliced apple would be good here but I added thinly slivered red cabbage, chopped hazelnuts and shaved Pecorino cheese. I seasoned lightly with a fruity olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
Salad #11 begins with beautiful heirloom beets thinly grated. I added grated red beets, grated carrots and slivered fennel. Then I tossed in a ton of chopped parsley and mint and made an orange mustardy vinaigrette. Crumbled queso fresca cheese would be good, or cured black olives in oil, or even chewy sweet raisins. I'm not kidding. Try it.
Salad dressing recipes listed below.
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 shallot, finely diced
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Combine the first 3 ingredients, let stand for 15 minutes, then wish in the oil. Season with coarse salt and cracked pepper.
creamy herb vinaigrette
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons whole milk yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
orange mustardy vinaigrette
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or white balsamic)
1 teaspoon grainy mustard (or dijon)
3 tablespoons light olive oil (or sunflower or canola)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Combine the orange zest, the orange juice and the vinegar with a sprinkling of salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk in the mustard and then whisk in the oils. Season with cracked pepper.
