Appetite for Reduction_ 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [9]
Nuts give salads great crunch. Because of their high fat and calorie content, I use them in moderation, a few tablespoons at a time. Sliced almonds are a great deal—because they are so thinly sliced, a little goes a long way. They’re especially excellent toasted, as in the Catalan Couscous Salad with Pears (page 47). I also love cashew pieces, toasted walnuts and pecans, and toasted pine nuts. A sprinkling of sesame seeds goes a long way, too.
A Berry for Your Thoughts
Fruit is a great addition to salads, especially with very vinegary dressings. The acid brings out the sweetness of the fruit in unexpected ways. I admit to not getting incredibly adventurous with fruits in salad—the usual suspects do a pretty good job, especially when they’re in season. You won’t see me putting cantaloupe or bananas in my salad—but hey, maybe you’d love that! My favorite fruits to use are sliced strawberries, whole raspberries and blackberries, sliced pears and apples, and orange segments (learn how to get pretty orange segments in the Wild Rice Salad with Oranges & Roasted Beets, page 39). When the season is right, make a day of it and go berry picking or have a blast at an apple orchard. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a strawberry fresh-plucked and still warm from the morning sun. You’ll also get in some exercise and save a couple of bucks. Win win win!
Lettuce Begin
When we come to greens, this is really where you can see how much the supermarket has changed in the past twenty years or so. Crotchety old man voice: “In my day, we had a head of plastic-wrapped iceberg lettuce and a bag of coleslaw mix and we liked it!” But when it comes to the produce aisle, even Kansas ain’t in Kansas anymore.
I do call for a variety of salad greens in this chapter, but instead of taking you step by step through every curvy, frilly, silky, crispy, and otherwise sexy variety of lettuce, I’ll just tell you this—try them all at least once! Salad greens have as much nuance as wine and supermarkets vary year-round in what kinds they keep in stock. Taste the greens and detect the different notes: bitter, spicy, sweet, mellow. There are worlds of flavor in that leaf.
That said, my go-to everyday lettuce is romaine, with a little arugula thrown in when I want to spice things up. Sure, it’s not all that exciting, but I enjoy the crispiness and convenience of it.
The Usual Suspects
I love seedless cucumbers, orange grape tomatoes when they’re in season, all manner of sprouts, especially broccoli and alfalfa, sliced cremini mushrooms, and when it comes to onions, make mine red: you just can’t beat their crisp, sweet bite. New and fun radishes are popping up at farmers’ markets and it never hurts to add a few for a little spice and color.
TIP
If you’ve got some yard space or even just a big container with some drainage holes, it might be a good idea to plant some lettuce in the springtime. It’s such a delicious and economical choice, because you can pull the leaves off as you need them, without killing the plant. They’ll keep growing back and keeping you happy throughout summer. Forget “farm to table” ; how about porch to table?
Tools of the Trade
As far as equipment goes, I’m willing to make a few more dirty dishes if it means it will make my salad all that much more lip-smacking.
A huge metal mixing bowl is my vessel of choice, for tossing together ingredients and getting everything evenly coated. Use a pair of metal tongs, and toss like the pros!
Because you’re making relatively small batches of dressings at a time, a small food processor is necessary to blend the party up nice and creamy. I’m pretty sold on the Magic Bullet. Full disclosure: A tester for this book turned me on to it and now I find it indispensible. The reason I love it so is not just that it gets the job done quickly, cleanly, and efficiently, but it comes with several containers that can be used