Early summer green salads

6/20/12

Cook’s Corner

According to the calendar, today is the first day of summer—the day to celebrate sunshine. Of course, this is Oregon. The calendar may say 'summer' but it's still soggy springtime. Personally, I’m past ready for cold weather to move on so we can chow down on a variety of crisp green salads to perk up our taste buds.

The nice thing about green salads is that once you have the “greens” (i.e. lettuce) the sky’s the limit. I’ve never made two green salads alike. After five decades of cooking, I’m still experimenting with taste combinations that come out of whatever is in the fruit bowl, pantry or refrigerator crisper.

Fresh, crisp lettuce, of course, is the key to a wonderful salad. With a couple of notable exceptions, dry packaged lettuce just doesn’t cut it for me. I bring home whatever lettuce looks good at the market, trim, wash and drain. Then, if it’s leaf lettuce, I layer it between paper towels in a plastic shoebox in the refrigerator. A couple of towels go on the bottom, a layer of lettuce, more towels, another layer of lettuce and I close up the box.

With only two of us in the house, a large head of leaf lettuce goes a long way. I also buy a head of iceberg lettuce for those nights when I want something simple. A crisp wedge of iceberg topped with homemade 1000 Island dressing is perfect with almost anything.

If I have lots of leftover fresh veggies in the crisper but not much lettuce, I make what I call a “chopped salad.” The other night I diced up a tomato, a couple of carrots, half a small cucumber, some celery, bell pepper and onion. I added a few green olives and tossed everything with a quarter head of sliced lettuce. For a dressing, I mixed the last of a tub of sour cream, a little mayo, a dash of seasoned rice vinegar, a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a dash of dill weed. Voila! We had a tasty dinner salad.

One of my favorite green salads is also orange. If I walk by the fruit bowl and the oranges are on their last legs, I add them to lettuce from the crisper along with some red onion and black olives. Tossed with a little fruit vinaigrette, it perks up the dullest of dinners.

Here are a few shortcuts to fast, fresh salads: I buy packaged baby spinach and Mesculin mix lettuce to add to leaf or head lettuce. I use Kraft coleslaw dressing and Kraft low fat Raspberry Vinaigrette on a regular basis. They don’t have that icky store-bought flavor. But I always make my own Italian and Ranch style dressings.

I have collected the following variations on everyday salads from a variety of sources to perk up any meal. Enjoy!

SPINACH SALAD WITH FRUIT

Salad:

10 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves, washed and dried

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 small red apple (Gala or McIntosh), cored and thinly sliced

1 small green apple (Granny Smith) cored and thinly sliced

3/4 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced

Vinaigrette Dressing:

1/4 cup Canola oil

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan heat the oil, curry, cumin and garlic over medium-low heat until hot and very fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Set aside until cool. Whisk in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oven to 375° F. Toast the almonds by scattering them on a baking sheet; bake until lightly browned, 8-10 min. Remove from oven; cool and chop coarsely.

In a large bowl, toss the spinach, apples, apricots and almonds with enough of the dressing to coat lightly. Serves 4-6.

BACON, LETTUCE and TOMATO SALAD

10 slices meaty smoked bacon (1/2 pound), cut crosswise into 2-inch-long pieces

2-4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3-6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Romaine or Boston lettuce torn into bite-size pieces (16 cups)

2 coarsely chopped tomatoes

Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, just until crisp. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, discarding fat from skillet.

Whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Add lettuce, bacon and tomatoes and toss well. Serves 8

Note: This makes a good salad for a potluck dinner or buffet. Lettuce can be washed and torn 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag lined with paper towels.

Simple Spring Salad Recipe

1 and 1/2 orange, juice only

1/2 lemon, juice only

1/2 small red onion, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon fine grain salt

4 big handfuls of salad greens, washed and dried

1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted

1/3 cup black olives, pitted

In a medium bowl whisk together the juice of 1/2 orange, lemon juice, most of the red onion, olive oil, and salt. Whisk together until emulsified, taste and adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Peel the remaining orange and cut into segments, removing any seeds you might encounter. Set aside.

When you're ready to serve, place the salad greens in a large bowl. Toss very gently with a generous splash of the dressing. Add the orange segments and walnuts. Give another toss. Taste and decide if you need to add more dressing. Make sure the nuts and citrus haven't all gone to the bottom; help them back up to the top if needed. Serve salad topped with the remaining red onion and olives.

Serves 4.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 

that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.