Simple, Never-Fail Green Salads

Three Nutritious Salads Require Little Time, Few Ingredients

© Laura Harrison McBride

Aug 27, 2008

One school of salad making says the more ingredients, the merrier. Another says a salad is just lettuce and dressing, period. The following salads are middle-of-the-road in those respects, but outstanding for taste, nutrition and ease of assembly. They depend, instead, on the freshness of the ingredients, and the willingness to combine flavors in simple, sometimes unusual, but ultimately foolproof ways.

Tender Green and Red Salad

Ingredients:

• One large head Boston lettuce (red or green), or two of Bibb lettuce.
• 1 large red pepper
• Good quality olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coarse sea salt
• Optional: Half an avocado, sliced and cubed

Directions:

1. Wash lettuce, spin or dry the leaves, and tear them into a large, flat salad bowl.
2. Wash pepper, core and remove seeds and membrane, and slice into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Add pepper to lettuce.
4. Sprinkle with olive oil, tossing, until leaves are coated.
5. Add no more than two teaspoons balsamic vinegar and taste. Add more if you like a more astringent salad.
6. Add avocado, if desired, and toss again.
7. Sprinkle with a few shakes of coarse sea salt and serve.

Serves 2-3.

Hearty Minted Green Salad

Most people think of mint as an herb only useful for iced tea, confections, or possibly a spring fruit salad. It perks up this salad marvelously, however, and nicely counterpoints the cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 half head Romaine lettuce
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• Dried mint flakes

Directions:

1. Wash and dry lettuce. Tear into large bite-size pieces and place in deep salad bowl.
2. Add olive oil to coat leaves, and splash in red wine vinegar, tossing and tasting, until it reaches the balance you like.
3. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and fine sea salt to taste.
4. Add at least 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
5. Add about 1 teaspoon of dried mint flakes that you have crushed between your palms.
6. Toss again.
7. Taste and adjust oil, vinegar and seasonings.

Serves 2-3.

Fig Leaves Salad

This salad doesn't use fig leaves, but it does contain chopped figs and leaves of Romaine lettuce. It is great served with Middle Eastern food, and with wintery French recipes. It also qualifies as a chopped salad, but is more interesting - and less calorie-laden - than the usual "deli" chopped salad.

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce
• Dried figs
• Whole pecans or walnuts
• Raspberry-infused vinegar
• Walnut oil

Directions:

1. Wash and dry lettuce, about two or three leaves for each serving you wish to make.
2. Place lettuce on chopping board, stacked if possible, and cut once down center of leaves, and then across about one-half inch apart to make short ribbons of lettuce. Place in bowl.
3. Chop one dried fig per serving and add.
4. Chop one tablespoon (measured before chopping) of nuts per serving.
5. Place in bowl with lettuce and figs.
6. Drizzle with walnut oil, enough to coat all the leaves in the bowl.
7. Sprinkle with raspberry-infused vinegar to taste.
8. Jump-start the flavor with a very small sprinkling - a few grains per serving - of sea salt.

Serve.

NOTE: By increasing the proportion of chopped nuts, this salad is good as a small vegetarian meal all by itself, or accompanied by some dark bread.

Red Pepper, Key Salad Ingredient

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