New Salad Combos

[chinadoll]

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SALAD? I get tired of the same old salads so here are a couple of my favorites and I am hoping you will share yours too.

Spinach and/or arugula with rare sliced roast beef,cucumber, red onion, ripe tomato, and crumbles blue cheese with blue cheese dressing


Leaf lettuce with tomato, shrimp (grilled or boiled then pan browned with some chili oil), avocado, sliced boiled egg, crumbled bacon, and homemade Thousand Island (low carb ketchup + mayo + lemon juice)


Chinese cabbage with sliced roast or boiled chicken, peanuts, cucumber, jicama, red or yellow peppers, and green onion tossed with a sweet and sour dressing sweetened with Splenda


Greek salads with cucumber, tomato, feta, onion and peppers are always welcome on my table topped with a really good tuna packed in oil but drained (topped with oil and vinegar).

OK, anyone have some new ones to add?

[not2late]

Re: New Salad Combos

Let's see...here are some I like. They are more like side dishes than a complete meal.

Tomatoes, Onions, Hard-boiled eggs: Slice the tomatoes, thinly slice the onions, and quarter the eggs. (Works best when you have really ripe, juicy tomatoes.) Arrange prettily on plate. Drizzle with lemon juice or sherry vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. This can be a meal in itself if you have one or two hard boiled eggs per serving.

Asparagus, green bean and snow peas: Cook the veggies until tender crisp. Cut them into the same length. Then toss with a vinaigrette while warm. Serve at room temperature.

Radish and onion: Thinly slice the radish and onion. Mix with a combo of mayo and sour cream.

Zucchini and summer squash: Cube the zucchini and summer squash. Saute (or microwave until tender.) While hot, add olive oil, fresh chopped mint and some lemon juice. Mix and serve at room temperature.

"Salsa" salad: Coarsely cube tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers and chili peppers (if desired.) Add the juice of 1/2 lime and a pinch of ground cumin. Mix together and allow to sit in the frig at least 1 hour before serving. I like this served with grilled chicken or fish. Sometimes I toss this into an omelette.

Cabbage salad: Shredd cabbage, onion and a chili pepper. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Grilled veggie salad: Use eggplant, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, etc. Grill the veggies, then slice into nice sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, chopped basil and/or parsley. Allow to set at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.

Tomato and green bean salad: Chop the tomatoes put into a bowl. Add a bit of thinly sliced onion, if desired. Cook the green beans until tender crisp. Drain and mix the hot green beans with the tomatoes. Add olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. Fresh chopped basil or parsley won't hurt this at all!

[not2late]

Re: New Salad Combos

Jill, if you add whole fresh parsley leaves and whole fresh mint leaves to that Greek salad (or any green salad for that matter), it really adds a flavor explosion! I've found that adding whole herb leaves and treating them like salad greens rather than "garnish" gives an entirely new dimension to green salads.

[chinadoll]

Re: New Salad Combos

Bless your heart Megs, this will keep me going all summer! They look terrific. I am going to print them out and post them next to my grocery list. The best part is I can get so many of these veggies here!

With the summer squash I also like to julienne or use a carrot peeler to make zucchini "noodles" that I stir fry with a tablespoon of pesto. Mmmmm.

[not2late]

Re: New Salad Combos

I have that same peeler thingy. A couple of years ago, I found a recipe in Gourmet magazine for cucumber "noodles", they blanched them and serve it with a cheese-butter sauce. I blanched them, but I tossed them with soy, fresh ginger root, lemon juice and a teeny drop of toasted sesame oil. They were good with sauteed salmon.

Another salad I like is celery slaw (don't look at me like that! ) You julienne the celery into 1 or 2 inch sticks. Add some thinly sliced onion, alittle salt and pepper, lemon or lime juice and just enough mayo to lightly coat the veg. It's crunchy and the celery taste isn't overpowering.

[momtomany1]

Re: New Salad Combos

what I am eating now!

bed of romaine with 'grilled' chicken tenders cut up (cook with cajun seasoning in grapeseed oil)
cut up cherry tomatoes, a little sour cream and guacamole and shredded cheese, a little bit of ranch dressing if you like



I challenge you to be hungry for hours after you eat this!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: New Salad Combos

Jill, if you add whole fresh parsley leaves and whole fresh mint leaves to that Greek salad (or any green salad for that matter), it really adds a flavor explosion! I've found that adding whole herb leaves and treating them like salad greens rather than "garnish" gives an entirely new dimension to green salads.

I had more than 20 types of herbs last summer and when I went out to cut fresh salad greens, I had as many herbs as I did "lettuces" and spinach. I love basil is any salad that I make a citrus dressing for (Lemon juice, rice vinegar, orange zest, orange extract, garlic, fresh ginger, sesame oil & olive or flax oil).

The different herbs are packed with nutrition and have very little in the way of carbs. I put basil, parsley, lemon balm and French tarragon in almost all my salads.

I was so sad when I brought in my herbs to over-winter in the house, but I brought in an infestation of white flies and aphids, so they didn't make it. My newly started herbs are about two inches tall. I'm already drooling for my first batch of pesto.

I'm planting about 20 basil plants this year. They are a wonderful companion plant for tomatoes, so I have started seed for over 20 Genovese and sweet basil plants and will plant one or two between each tomato plant. No running out this year, or having to decimate my entire crop of basil just to make one batch of pesto.

[Zarabelle]

Re: New Salad Combos

Oh what a brilliant thread - and fantastic ideas.

I like:

Rocket, watercress, bacon, cheddar, tomato with olive oil and cider vinegar
greek salad - feta, tomato, black olive, cucumber with olive oil and cider vinegar
chinese cabbage, cucumber, prawns, thousand island (mayo and one carb ketchup)
spinach, bacon and avocado w oil and vinegar
tomato and red onion
parma ham, tomato, mozzarella, chillis (blackened on hob and sliced) 10/10!

[chinadoll]

Re: New Salad Combos

I want to print the whole thread and keep it on the fridge! I am with you with the herbs Sunny. Once I get the basil growing it goes like crazy here. It's just hard to start. OK I am off to make a new salad for dinner! Hooray!

[SandyL2002]

Re: New Salad Combos

I am glad to have found this thread.. I would never have thought of all these things for salads.. Yum!

[chinadoll]

Re: New Salad Combos

Had a huge bunch of cilantro on my salad today along with a chili thousand island dressing. What a difference the fresh herbs made! WOW

[not2late]

Re: New Salad Combos

Great aren't they?

I just noticed my mints are coming up, so I'll start putting them into foods.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: New Salad Combos

I am trying to figure out a way to hurry up my herbs! We are still having yucky, rainy, cold weather and basil needs heat. I wish I still had a greenhouse.

I planted spinach, Swiss Chard, arugula, lettuces and onions more than a month ago and they are still tiny, tiny.

[chinadoll]

Re: New Salad Combos

bump

[SunnySmile501]

Re: New Salad Combos

Our weather has been rotten--cold, overcast, windy--for so long, everything is late. I was able to pick some baby spinach, arugula and spring green onions.

Some of my self-seeding herbs have come up all in my other pots of perennial herbs, so in the act of pulling them out, I have been eating them. The neighbors probably think I'm a kook, eating the "weeds" I am pulling out. Tiny anise hyssop plants are delicious.