Contents
Salad Basics
How to Dress, Toss, and Serve Salads
How to Make Croutons
Green Salad Basics and Recipes
Types of Greens
How to Prepare and Store Greens
Mixed Green Salad
Caesar Salad
Spinach Salad with Orange, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese
Greek Salad
Arugula Salad
Vegetable and Fruit Salad Recipes
Coleslaw
Potato Salad
Cucumber and Yogurt Salad
Panzanella
Roasted Beet Salad
Stuffed Tomato Salad
Waldorf Salad
Summer Fruit Salad
Grain and Legume Salad Recipes
Three-Bean Salad
Tabbouleh
Couscous Salad
Wild Rice Salad
Pasta Salad Recipes
Spicy Cellophane Noodle Salad
Cold Buckwheat Noodle Salad
Antipasto Salad
Bow Tie Pesto Salad
Fish, Meat, and Poultry Salad Recipes
Tuna Salad
Egg Salad
Niçoise Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado and Chipotle Dressing
Chef’s Salad
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- The tools you need to make magnificent salads easily
- How to make your own croutons
- How to make green salads, pasta salads, bean salads, and more
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Salad Basics
Salads are as unique and varied as they are delicious and nutritious. Though green salads or fruit salads spring to most people’s minds when they think of salad, grain and legume salads, pasta salads, and fish, meat, or poultry salads can also brighten up any table or serve as an entire meal.
Salad-Making Equipment
No matter what type of salad you’re making, it’s unlikely that you’ll need much specialized equipment. But there are a few tools that are handy for making salads, and chances are you own some of them already.
Salad Spinner
A salad spinner is used primarily to dry washed greens. It works like the spin cycle of a washing machine, spinning the greens and pulling excess water away from the leaves. There are hand-operated and electric spinners, but a hand-operated one will probably suit your needs. Different models may have different drive mechanisms:
- Hand-crank models feature a plastic crank that you turn in a circular a motion. These spinners can be difficult to hold steady during operation.
- Pull-cord spinners require you to yank a cord, which sometimes snags, to activate the interior bowl.
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Plunging-knob spinners have a knob in the center, which you push up and down in a steady motion. These tend to be the sturdiest and easiest spinners to use.
When using a salad spinner, avoid overfilling your bowl with greens, even if this means you have to spin greens in a few different batches. Overfilling the bowl will impair the spinner’s ability to remove all the water from the leaves.
Colander
Helpful for draining pastas, legumes, and washed greens that are too delicate for a salad spinner, a colander also comes in handy for procedures such as draining excess water from salted vegetables for coleslaw. Stainless steel models are preferable to plastic models because they won’t pick up odors or stain over time.
Salad Tongs and Spoons
Available in a seemingly endless variety of styles and materials, salad tongs and salad spoons are meant for serving salads tableside. Do not use them to toss salads with delicate ingredients, though, because they will bruise or tear your greens.
Salad Bowl
Some home cooks swear by worn-in wooden salad bowls that they wash after each use with nothing but a damp towel, claiming that the bowls become “seasoned” over time and contribute deep flavor to subsequent salads. Be aware, though, that untreated wooden bowls can easily absorb odors and oil that can eventually become rancid, so these bowls are not ideal salad bowls.
Instead, it’s best to serve dressed salads individually on plates or in small bowls or family style in a glass or enamel bowl or in a wooden bowl that’s been treated with a food-safe varnish. Wash all salad bowls thoroughly with warm, soapy water after each use. Also, make sure your bowl is large enough so that there is room to toss the salad just before serving.
Mandolin
A convenient tool for slicing or julienning fruits and vegetables quickly, a mandolin features a flat tray, adjustable blade, and sliding finger guard that allow you to cut items safely into uniform pieces. Most models stand on collapsible legs, but the smaller and cheaper Japanese mandolin features a handle on one end and an angled edge on the other to rest against the countertop while you push food across the blade.
Box Grater
The versatile box grater allows you to grate fruits and vegetables, shred cheese, and zest citrus peels by hand. Look for a stainless-steel grater with a rubber-lined bottom, which will prevent slippage during use.
Food Processor
Box graters are handy for small jobs, but if you’ll be grating or shredding large amounts of food to make salads, you may want to invest in a food processor equipped with grating and shredding attachments.
Vegetable Peeler
A vegetable peeler is essential for removing skins from vegetables and fruit. In a pinch, a vegetable peeler is excellent for shaving thin slices from blocks of hard cheeses.
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