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Recipe : How to prepare Healthy and Fabulous Salad
from: Cheri SicardA green salad can be one of those dishes that really sing on your plate, or it can be the ho-hum obligation that you eat because you think you should. The difference between the two is often just a matter of a few simple tips and small details.
Here, we will give you plenty of hints and tips on great green salad making. Put them to use in your kitchen and you’ll soon be turning out exciting salads that your dinner guests will be talking about later.
Go for the greens
Get creative with greens—gone are the days when salad meant a few leaves of wilted iceberg lettuce drizzled with a fat-laden creamy dressing. Today’s markets have a wide variety of salad greens. Try to use several varieties in your salads.
For convenience you can buy premixed mesclun, which contains a variety of greens. You can also blend your own by going through the produce department and mixing and matching greens. Some that will add interesting flavors to the mix are the slightly bitter chicories such as endive or radicchio, peppery arugula, or even mild baby spinach. Look for interesting textures and colors in your greens as well. Maybe add some frisee or curly red leaf lettuce for extra dimension.
If you buy a pre washed mesclun mix, you won’t have to worry about cleaning the greens; otherwise, they should be thoroughly washed. The hardest part of this is that salad greens should also be dried before being turned into salad, or else they will water down the dressing.
A salad spinner is a handy kitchen gadget that actually works quite well. Otherwise, after shaking off most of the water, you can roll the washed lettuce in paper towels to help absorb the remaining moisture.
Plan on about 2 cups of mixed greens per person. For a slightly sweet, mild anise flavor, try adding some chopped fresh fennel bulb to your salad or using fennel as the basis of the salad itself.
Variety of vegetables
You can add all kinds of other vegetables to your salads depending on your mood. I generally prefer simpler salads that allow one or two ingredients to really shine, but to each his own. Tomatoes and onions seem to be standard fare but don’t forget cucumbers, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, avocado, olives, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, peas, corn, beans, and so on.
Lightly steamed veggies that have been chilled also make excellent salad additions— think asparagus, green beans, broccoli, or cauliflower. As per some research, raw mushrooms are slightly toxic and released during cooking so avoid using mushrooms in large quantity.
Flavorful fruits and tasty toppings
Fruit can add a bright flavor surprise to green salads. For just a few suggestions, try adding a small amount of sliced fresh strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries to your salad mix. Citrus fruit like orange or grapefruit slices or fresh pineapple go really well, especially with dark greens like spinach.
Add tropical flavor with fruits like mango or papaya. In fall, be sure to try my favorite salad fruit: fresh pomegranate seeds. Ingredients that really make a salad sing! The following ingredients are so potent in flavor that you only have to use a small amount,but they will add a distinctive, unforgettable flavor to your salads:
crumbled bacon bits; crumbled hard-boiled egg; crumbled strong cheeses such as blue cheese, gorgonzola, Roquefort, or feta; brinecured olives such as kalamatas; toasted nuts or seeds; or anchovies.
More salad tips
Try roasting vegetables on the grill or roasting them in the oven before adding to salads (you can chill first, or add them warm). This works well for onions, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms (especially portobellos), and many others. Add grilled chicken, beef, or even tofu to your salad and turn it into a meal.
If you like toasted nuts on your salad, try sugared nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, for an even greater flavor spectrum. To make these nuts, put 2 1/4 cups nuts with 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a heavy skillet. Cook the mixture until the water evaporates and the nuts have a
crystallized, sugary appearance. Pour onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper ad immediately separate the nuts with a fork. Let cool; store in airtight container.
Mixed green salads with warm goat cheese are on the menus of countless trendy restaurants today, but it’s easy to duplicate this feat at home. Simply take a log of goat cheese and slice into slices about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick. Lightly coat the cheese slices with either some seasoned breadcrumbs or finely chopped nuts. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and place under the boiler. Watch carefully— it takes less than a minute! Broil just until the cheese starts to melt. (If you wait too long, you will end up with a runny mess). Remove cheese from oven and use a wide spatula to transfer one cheese slice onto each serving plate of dressed, mixed greens.
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