Get Cooking_ 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen - Mollie Katzen [19]
HOW TO SHOP FOR GREEN SALAD INGREDIENTS
Buy only the freshest greens available. Avoid yellow wilted leaves or anything that appears wet or slimy (or that looks like it’s even thinking of becoming wet or slimy). Small young leaves tend to be tender; old overgrown leaves are usually tough.
Lettuce, salad mix, and spinach Packaged salad mix often comes in 5-ounce bags and is also frequently available loose, in bulk. You can substitute baby spinach for some of it.
When you get it home, use it as soon as possible, but if you need to store it, keep it very dry and wait until just before making the salad to wash it. Tired-looking-but-still-okay leaves can usually be perked up by soaking them in cold water for 5 minutes and then drying them in a salad spinner.
Wash salad greens in cold running water in the basket of your salad spinner, a colander, or in a sinkful of cold water. Dry them as thoroughly as possible in a salad spinner. The drier the leaves, the better their relationship with the dressing will be. If the greens are really water-soaked when you get them home (owing to overactive misters in the produce aisle), spin them dry before storing them.
Remove and discard any damaged leaves, and store the good leaves in any of the following ways:
In plastic bags with almost all the air squeezed out of them (the greens need to be very dry for this).
Directly in the salad spinner in the refrigerator, if you have room (the greens can be a little wet).
In a food storage container with a tightly fitting lid, with a folded paper towel in the bottom of the container (the paper towel helps absorb excess moisture and the covered container helps keep excess air out).
Bunches of herbs can be stored like bouquets in glasses partially filled with water (at room temperature if it’s only for a day or so, in the refrigerator if storing for longer).
If lettuce leaves need to be made smaller, try to accomplish this, as noted food authority Harold McGee says, “with the least possible physical pressure.” Cutting swiftly with a very sharp knife just before assembling the salad is a good idea, as is simply tearing greens gently with your hands.
Okay, enough about the technicalities of leaf life span. Let’s get to the fun part. What do you put in a green salad, and what’s the best way to assemble it all?
THE GREENS
Of course you can use any kind of lettuce. Beyond that, try baby spinach, arugula, watercress (stems and leaves), chicories (including radicchio, which has a slightly bitter flavor and white-veined dark red leaves, and Belgian endive, those tight little pale-green elongated heads). A good place to start if you’re less familiar with any of these is a prepared salad mix (also known as “mesclun” or “field greens”).
ADD-INS
You can add any vegetables you think you might enjoy raw. Just cut them small and thin, and toss them into the mix. These might include:
Carrots (chopped, sliced, or grated)
Cabbage (finely sliced or grated)
Bell peppers (go for the brightly colored ones)
Red onion
Scallions
Celery
Cucumber
Cauliflower
Mushrooms (very fresh, clean domestic ones only)
Radishes
Beets (peeled and grated)
Sugar snap peas
Thin “French” green beans (haricots verts)
You can also include vegetables and other ingredients that are better cooked (and cooled down or chilled) before adding. Cut these small, too.
Broccoli
Squash
Potatoes
Beets (peel after cooking)
Thicker green beans
Cooked beans (canned or homemade)
Leftover cooked grains
Small amounts of torn, minced, or snipped (with scissors) fresh herbs are a lovely touch and add deeper flavor to salads.
Flat-leaf parsley
Basil
Cilantro
Thyme
Mint
Savory
Dill
Chives
Fruit can be wonderful in a green salad. Add fresh fruit to a salad just before serving—or even at the table,