Salad Cravings

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The change to Daylight Saving Time makes it feel like spring even if the temps haven’t warmed up much.  I have been thinking about salads, which I absolutely love!  I make some sort of dinner salad for the first course of many meals, but I really love to make a big Main Dish Salad, especially if it makes for a great leftover for lunch the next day.

Some people claim that making a salad is difficult, but as the following examples show, it's really just adding some colorful ingredients to a base of lettuces.

A small Cobb Salad for a first course.

Baby lettuces for the base layer, topped with slices of roasted pepper, goat cheese, pickled beets, and some diced tomato.

As the seasons change, I tend to make more Main Course Whole Grain Salads, although we often use them as a side dish with fish or chicken. I almost always have one of these in my fridge all spring, summer and fall  for a number of reasons.  When there is a great tasting leftover in the fridge, everybody wants that because it’s already to eat.  Aren’t we all a little bit lazy when we get hungry? I believe that variety is the spice of life, so I try to rotate the choices all the time.  The possibilities are infinite; you can vary the dressing, the selection of fruits and vegetables, and the “background” grain, so that it’s an ever-changing salad.

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I start out with choosing a whole grain, or a combination of grains.  My new favorite is to cook up these three grains: 

½ cup wheat berries

¼ cup pearled barley

¼ cup wild rice

I put these in a pot, cover them with lots of water (go 2” above the grains) and bring it to a boil.  When it’s boiling, throw in some kosher salt, put on a lid, and turn the heat to low.  Set your timer for 20 minutes.  When the timer tells you it’s ready, turn the heat off but leave the lid on.  Wait another 20 minutes and then taste your grains.  If they are done, drain off the excess water.  They should be somewhat firm and chewy, and look like this photo.   

 

Barley, Wheat Berries, and Wild Rice.

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The next step is to choose the ingredients that will contrast with one another in texture, color and taste.  I love the variety of colors you get when you use yellow corn, black beans, halved cherry tomatoes, and some sweet pepper. You could also add cubed avocado and fresh cilantro for a garnish.

Black Beans, Corn, tomatoes, pickled onions, and avocado.  This time with quinoa.

The dressing you use is a very important part of the finished dish, so learn to make your own.  It’s a very simple thing to do, and not only is it better tasting, it’s better for you.  No transfats, no unpronounceable words, and no sugar, unless you add it. Everybody should learn how to make a really good vinaigrette.  It’s really just a ratio of acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) to good olive oil.  I will write a whole blog on vinaigrettes next time. 

Now just toss the vegetables into a big bowl with the grains, add the dressing, mix well, and you’re ready to eat.  This should keep in the refrigerator for 5 days, and makes a wonderful leftover to bring to work the next day.  But be warned--Everyone will want some.