Not-Your-Momma's Boring Salad Recipes

Salad recipes don't have to be just limp lettuce with tomatoes and cucumbers with ranch dressing. There's a whole world of dressings, as well as different lettuces, greens, and vegetables and fruits that you can put together to make a great salad.

Spinach Salad with Mango and Almonds

It is completely delicious and absolutely a cinch to put together.

You can substitute any nuts, and any other fruit with the same sweet-tart quality of mangoes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds
3.5 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 mango, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 bunch spinach, rinsed just before using and dried

Directions:

Toast the almonds for 5 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.

Mix vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, and tarragon in a bowl. Wisk in the olive oil, and then taste to flavor with salt and pepper.

Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl and toss to mix.

Serves 4.

Variations:

This dish is delicious with fresh strawberries, blueberries, or orange slices. You can also substitute in dried cranberries or blueberries.

This vegan salad recipe comes from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. I used to be a big fan of caesar dressing with anchovies and a raw egg. This dressing is delicious with neither. A few of the ingredients are harder to find, but are always at Whole Foods and other health food stores. This recipe makes enough dressing for one head of lettuce.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tbsp. tahini
1/2 tbsp. mellow white miso paste
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. tamari (soy sauce)
1/8 tsp. Vegan Worchestershire sauce (optional)
1/6 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 head romaine lettuce
2 slice Italian bread crusts, baked until toasted and then rubbed with a garlic clove (optional)

Directions:

Combine garlic, tahini, miso, lemon juice, tamari, and Worchestershire. Wisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Wash and dry the lettuce and cut into bite-size pieces.

Toss dressing over lettuce and cover with toasts if you like croutons.

Makes enough dressing for two large salads.

Once you learn to make one vinaigrette, you can make any kind you want for any salad recipe. I almost never buy salad dressings anymore because it's so easy to make vinaigrettes at home and they taste so much fresher. I like being able to control the ingredients, and I like not having all kinds of preservatives in my body.

Again, you can use any other kind of vinegar, and you can also use another acid, like lemon or lime juice, instead of vinegar.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. good olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
dijon mustard, to taste and for texture
1 pinch herbes de provence

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil with a wisk.

Here's the [easy] trick to making good dressings-- While wisking the ingredients, slowly stream the olive oil into the mixture. The oil will combine with the vinegar rather than resting on the top of it.

Makes enough dressing for 1 large or 2 medium sized salads.

I've never been a fan of typical picnic-style potato salad, but I do love potatoes... and salad, so I made up this salad recipe. You have tons of flexibility with the ingredients. I try to stick to things that are even tastier when made with lemons. With these fresh ingredients, they are always better when organic.

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 c. potatoes, preferably small and colorful, steamed
1/2 c. fresh green beans, steamed
1 ear corn, steamed
1-2 small cucumbers, chopped
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Dressing:

2 lemons, zested
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp. fresh dill
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

After steaming the veggies very quickly, so they are still crisp, put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Juice the lemons, and wisk them together with the zest, mustard, sugar, dill, salt, pepper, and olive oil to emulsify the dressing.

Combine all the ingredients and toss to coat.

Refrigerate and serve cold. This is best if prepared ahead of time and allowed to chill so the tastes combine.

Serves 4.

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