Not so long ago, the salads offered at a picnic or summertime potluck supper were an almost certain trifecta: potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw.
There’s nothing wrong with that. All three are classics and remain popular choices that, when made with care and a little flair, will draw diners back to the buffet for second or even third helpings.
Nonetheless, the roster of salads that may be on display at a social gathering has expanded dramatically. Why? Credit the impressive increase of vegetables, lettuces and seasonings — along with olive oils of many flavors from many nations — available in markets for those who want to handcraft their own salads.
For example, the Whole Foods Market on North Avenue, which introduced large-scale marketing of organic produce here more than a decade ago, now offers more than 50 produce items of which 75 percent are organic.
Turn, then, to the selection of prepared dressings, lined up shoulder to shoulder like soldiers on parade, waiting for shoppers who lack the time or desire to create their own. Or contemplate the sizable salad bars’ displays and prepared, ready-to-eat salads waiting for grab-and-go consumers in food markets and takeout shops.
Kevin Morrissey, director of communications for the Anti-Cruelty Society, shops often at the Hyde-Park Co-op and Dominick’s on Roosevelt Road.
“I find the selection of greens and other salad ingredients has become broader and fresher,” he said. “The salad bar is a life-saver if someone single wants to eat quickly and healthfully. I even use the salad bars in markets when I drive across the country.”
There’s another reason why the space devoted to salad ingredients in our markets has expanded.
Nutritionists and health care specialists are increasingly in accord as to the healthful properties of popular salad ingredients including olives, nuts and the oils they produce. Salad greens provide vitamins C and E and beta-carotene–antioxidants all. Spinach offers a good dose of folic acid.
Finally, the salad bowl is a genie’s lamp: It makes the home cook’s wishes for creative powers and a reduced kitchen budget come true. The reason is the salad’s openness to leftovers. Recycling leftovers gives new dimensions to basic salads that re-stimulate jaded appetites, and it means less waste and lower grocery bills.
To help promote salads further, we have designed a summer salad recipe buffet. These salads need not be served together, but when displayed in the Tribune’s test kitchen, there were some delightful contrasts in color, taste and texture.
The real surprise hit was the seven-layer salad, an oldie that refuses to go away. After rejecting several recent versions, we settled on what purports to be the original, a recipe developed by Kraft that was reproduced in “Back of the Box Recipes.” Best if prepared the day before or morning of the party, this rich-tasting salad is a contrast of sweet and salt (peas and bacon–and don’t skimp on either) and soft and crisp (mayonnaise and the other vegetables).
Bright colors and a lively citrus dressing make the summer salad with fresh citrus vinaigrette a winner visually as well as for its refreshing taste. Fennel and date slices, asparagus stalks and orange sections are posed on red leaf lettuce while minced fresh ginger and honey add intrigue to the make-ahead dressing.
There are aromas and textures of the Mediterranean in the lentil salad with lemon dressing, a dish that will hold up very well during the trip to the picnic site and even improve as a generous bouquet of flavors melds together.
Americans eat cheese in or on almost anything, including salad. It is rare, however, when cheese becomes the main ingredient in a salad. The leading character in our Swiss cheese salad is Gruyere, the firm, nutty-tasting and mildly sweet cheese made in Switzerland. The cheese, cut into julienne strips, is combined with a dressing containing vinegar, mustard and pepper; flavored with onion and parsley and served with leaves of vivid-green, bitter-tasting arugula. If the bitter-sweet sensory collision between herb and cheese seems too extreme (or, if arugula is not available at the market), baby spinach may be substituted.
Finally, the traditional leaf-lettuce salad with blue cheese garnish is dressed up with roasted vegetables–notably beets, onion and garlic–and garnished with hard-cooked eggs and hazelnuts. With its fragrant apple vinegar, it’s somewhat more elegant than most outdoor salads.
Summer salad with fresh citrus vinaigrette
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Marinating time: 8 hours
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Chicken breast strips, jicama and sweet red onions make delicious additions to this salad developed by William Rice.
Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons each: fresh lime juice, minced ginger root
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon each: honey, Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Salad:
1 pound fresh asparagus or green beans, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced
1 orange, separated into segments
1 cup dates, cut in thin strips
1. Combine citrus juices with minced ginger in a small bowl; refrigerate at least 8 hours. Pour mixture through fine strainer into a small bowl; discard ginger. Whisk in oil, honey, mustard, salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
2. Place asparagus or green beans in a medium pot with 1 teaspoon salt and water to cover; cook over medium heat just until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; place under cold running water to stop cooking. Refrigerate.
3. Toss lettuce with 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette; divide among 6 plates. Toss asparagus, fennel, orange segments and dates in a large bowl with the remaining 1 cup vinaigrette. Spoon mixture over lettuce with a slotted spoon.
Nutrition information per serving:
300 calories, 52% calories from fat, 19 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 620 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 4.1 g protein, 5 g fiber
Swiss cheese salad
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Expect those who dislike things bitter to ignore the arugula. To indulge them, if you are so inclined, substitute baby spinach or mache. Developed by William Rice.
10 ounces Swiss cheese, Gruyere preferred, cut into thin
1 1/2-inch strips
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons each: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1/2 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large bunch arugula, torn
Combine cheese, onion and parsley in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl; whisk in oil. Pour over cheese mixture; toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, spoon cheese mixture over arugula in a salad bowl.
Nutrition information per serving:
310 calories, 72% calories from fat, 25 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 15 g protein, 1.7 g fiber
Seven-layer salad
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Refrigeration time: 2 hours
Yield: 8 servings
Sliced hard-cooked eggs and cooked shrimp make excellent additions to this classic Kraft salad, found in “Back of the Box Recipes.” For lower fat content, use light mayonnaise or yogurt for some of the mayonnaise and low-fat cheese. The layers can be seen (and admired) better in a straight-sided glass bowl.
1 package (16 ounces) iceberg lettuce mixture
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, minced
9 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked until crisp
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Place greens in a large glass bowl. Create one layer each of celery, onions, green pepper, bacon and peas over greens. Spread mayonnaise evenly over peas, covering the top completely and sealing to edge of bowl. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Toss before serving, if desired.
Nutrition information per serving:
425 calories, 85% calories from fat, 40 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein, 3.4 g fiber
Roasted vegetable salad with apple vinaigrette
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings
– Developed by William Rice
Vinaigrette:
2 cups fresh apple juice or cider
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Salad:
2 medium size beets, unpeeled
1 onion, unpeeled, quartered
4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 cups loosely packed mixed baby salad greens (mesclun)
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or walnuts, coarsely chopped, see note
1. For vinaigrette, boil apple juice in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, 50 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; set aside to cool. Whisk in mustard and vinegar. Whisk in oil, salt and pepper to taste; store in jar until ready to use.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. For salad, wrap beets in foil. Place directly on oven rack. Place onion wedges and garlic in an 8-inch square baking pan; cover tightly with foil. Bake until onion and garlic are fork-tender but not mushy, about 30 minutes; set aside to cool. Continue baking beets until fork-tender, about 45 additional minutes; set aside to cool 30 minutes.
3. Peel the beets, onion and garlic cloves. Cut the onion coarsely; chop the garlic; cut beets into 3/4-inch cubes. Separate vegetables in separate containers for transport.
4. Divide the salad greens among 4 plates. Cover greens with beets and onions. Sprinkle with hard-cooked egg and chopped garlic. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over each salad. Top with crumbled cheese and toasted nuts.
Test kitchen note: To toast nuts, spread nuts in a large skillet; heat over medium heat, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Nutritional information per serving:
200 calories, 58% calories from fat, 14 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 2.7 g fiber
Lentil salad with lemon dressing
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Standing time: 30 minutes
Chilling time: 2 hours
Yield: 8 servings
– This is one of the sturdiest salads for transporting. It was developed by William Rice.
1 1/2 cups dry lentils
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 carrot, diced
1/4 small fennel bulb, diced
1 large clove garlic, halved
3 green onions, minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each: celery salt, freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1. Rinse and sort lentils. Cover lentils with cold water by 3 inches in a medium saucepan; heat to boil. Remove from heat; drain. Return lentils to pan; cover with fresh cold water. Add anise seeds and red pepper flakes; heat to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook just until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine carrot, fennel and garlic in a small saucepan. Cover with water; heat to boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender and garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Drain; mince garlic.
3. Combine garlic, carrots, fennel, onions, parsley, mustard, thyme, salt, celery salt and pepper in a medium bowl; stir in olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Drain cooked lentils; add to carrot-fennel mixture. Toss; set aside 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Taste; season if needed.
Nutrition information per serving:
255 calories, 48% calories from fat, 14 g fat, 1.9 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 325 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 10 g protein, 9 g fiber
Tips for traveling with salads
These days food containers come in nearly every shape and size imaginable. Therefore:
– Choose unbreakable containers with secure tops or zip-lock bags that provide a tight fit for the salad.
– Make-ahead salads often call for mayonnaise. Use commercial mayonnaise, not homemade, and keep the salad cool until serving.
– Greens should be washed, dried and packed without dressing. Prepare the dressing separately and transport it in a screw-top jar or sealable container to be added and tossed at the party site.
– The bulky salad bowl can be filled with supplies such as tableware and napkins. In a pinch, use a spare foil roasting pan for the salad tossing event.
–William Rice
