-Up to 1 cup tiny cherry tomatoes (or regular-sized ones, cut in half)
-Up to ½ cup small pitted olives (any kind you like)
-Up to ½ cup grated or minced carrot, celery, or radishes, for crunch
-Up to 1 cup raw or leftover cooked vegetables (such as zucchini, green beans, or peas)
-Up to ¼ cup minced scallion (white and tender green parts)
-¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts or chopped toasted walnuts
-Cubes of mild cheese (fontina, mozzarella)
-Crumbles of crumbly cheese (feta, goat cheese, ricotta salata)
Make this vegan by using eggless noodles and omitting the Parmesan cheese.
old-fashioned iceberg wedges with luxurious bleu cheese dressing
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Once upon a time, iceberg lettuce (the clownishly round, very pale green variety) was the only salad green on most American dinner plates. Then for years it seemed to have been banished from all venues except for low-end salad bars and Mexican combo platters. But even though more fashionable species of deeper-hued, smaller, shapelier salad greens replaced it in discriminating culinary circles, in recent years iceberg has made a major comeback as the uber-cool wedge, its mildness offset with a big-flavored bleu cheese dressing. It’s nice to serve this on individual salad plates. It’s even nicer if you chill the plates first (everything about this dish should be cold) by stacking them in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving time.
With a very simple dressing and minimal lettuce prep, this is a good recipe for beginners. When shopping for iceberg lettuce, buy the tightest, greenest head you can find. You can use any kind of bleu cheese. Some are saltier and more pungent than others, and prices vary widely. Try different kinds until you find your favorite. The dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until just before serving.
luxurious bleu cheese dressing
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
½ cup crumbled bleu cheese
salad
1 large head (about 1 pound) iceberg lettuce, chilled
Freshly ground black pepper
1. To make the dressing, combine the buttermilk and mayonnaise in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk until blended. Continue whisking as you sprinkle in the bleu cheese. Continue to mix, mashing the cheese a bit. The cheese will mostly, but not completely, blend into the mixture. There will be some small lumps. You want them there. It’s part of the charm.
2. Peel off and discard any wilted or damaged outer leaves from the head of lettuce. Stand the lettuce on the stem end and use a sharp knife (choose one with a blade about as large as the head of lettuce) to cut the entire head in half. Cut each half from top to stem into two or three wedges. If the core looks tough, use a paring knife to trim it off each wedge.
3. Stand one wedge (resting on its outer-leaf side looks cool) on each serving plate, and spoon a generous amount of dressing over the top, letting it drip down to the plate if it wants to. Serve right away, passing a pepper grinder at the table.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Sprinkle the top with chopped lightly toasted pecans.
In addition to the pecans, you can add some sliced or diced apple and/or a scattering of dried cranberries.
Cut some very sweet tomatoes in half and scatter a few on each plate. Tomatoes are hugely compatible with bleu cheese, and the color will perk this up greatly! Sprinkle on some chopped parsley or snipped chives for even more color.
Cook 2 strips of bacon (see Chapter 8: Party Snacks), cool, and crumble over each serving.
Try serving iceberg wedges with other dressings, including Homemade Ranch (Chapter 2: Salads) or the Oregano-Laced Vinaigrette from the Greek Salad (Chapter 2: Salads).
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original-ish waldorf salad
Makes 4 to 5 servings
It may seem old-school, but give it a try and you’ll see why this classic apple-celery-walnut salad has never gone out of style. The addition of yogurt makes this version a bit tangier and more multidimensional than the original. It’s nice to use a variety of apples for this. I like to combine tart green ones, such as Granny Smiths, with a medium-sweet variety, like Galas, and something sweet and crunchy, like Honeycrisps, Fujis, or Pink Ladies. Cut the apples right before assembling the salad; otherwise they’ll turn brown.
4 medium-sized apples, chopped into roughly ½-inch chunks (unpeeled)
1 stalk celery, minced
¼ cup (packed) raisins (dark or golden)
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1. Combine the apples, celery, and raisins in a medium-large bowl.
2. In a second, smaller bowl, whisk together the yogurt and mayonnaise until smooth. Pour this mixture over the apples, and stir gently until everything is evenly coated. Serve topped with the walnuts.
GET CREATIVE
Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over each serving.
For a lighter result, you can use all yogurt and leave out the mayo.
If you like a sweeter Waldorf, add up to 1 tablespoon honey or real maple syrup.
For a richer salad, you can swap in some sour cream for some or all of the mayonnaise and/or yogurt.
Add up to ½ cup crumbled bleu cheese when combining the yogurt and mayo. Add some diced chicken to make this a main dish for lunch. The chicken and the bleu cheese go very well together.
Toss in up to ½ cup halved seedless grapes.
Mash half a ripe avocado until it’s smooth, and whisk this into the yogurt-mayo mixture.
Garnish with fresh orange or tangerine sections (seedless or seeded by you) or drained canned mandarin oranges (if you really want to go old-school).
You can swap in pecans or almonds for the walnuts.
Mix in some diced or thinly sliced carrot.
Other dried fruit (chopped dates, sliced figs, dried blueberries, cranberries, or cherries) can sub for the raisins; or use a mix of black and golden raisins.
Make this vegan by replacing the mayonnaise and yogurt with eggless vegan mayonnaise.
TOASTING NUTS
Toasting brings out the flavor of nuts and gives them a delightful crispness. It’s an easy process that makes a huge difference, especially when you’re going to be tossing nuts into a dish like a salad or pasta (or even if you just want to have them around to snack on).
To toast nuts, adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking tray, and bake them for 7 to 12 minutes, or until they are fragrant and just beginning to turn brown. (I recommend setting a timer for 7 minutes and then checking the nuts every minute or two after it goes off.) Remove the nuts from the oven, and let them cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes. (You can also do this same process in a toaster oven.)
chinese chicken salad with soy-ginger-sesame vinaigrette
Makes 2 to 3 large dinner-sized salads, or 4 to 6 smaller side salads
The next time you’re contemplating Chinese takeout, try this big, colorful, crunchy main-dish salad. You can make it with Pan-Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts (Chapter 6: Chicken, Fish, and Meat), which you’ll need to make ahead of time (as much as 3 days in advance) so they can cool. If you’re in a big hurry, cook the chicken, slice it, spread the slices out on a plate, and put the plate in the refrigerator while you make the dressing and put the rest of the salad together. In 15 minutes or so, the chicken should be cool enough to toss into the salad. Or use leftover roast chicken (made using the recipe on Chapter 6: Chicken, Fish, and Meat; or store-bought rotisserie chicken; or even better, roast chicken—or even duck—from a Chinese deli).
The dressing keeps for weeks in a tightly lidded jar in the refrigerator; shake it well before serving. This recipe calls for seasoned rice vinegar, which is a commonly available version of rice vinegar that contains a little sal
t and sugar. In a pinch, you can substitute plain rice vinegar or even cider vinegar. If you do, increase the quantity of sugar to 1 tablespoon and the salt to ¼ teaspoon.
Don’t stress about stemming the cilantro. Just tear off the longer stems so you have mostly leaves, and you’re good to go.
soy-ginger-sesame vinaigrette
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
¼ teaspoon minced garlic (about half a small clove)
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons canola, soy, or peanut oil
salad
1 pound romaine lettuce (a large head or “hearts”)
2 cooked chicken breasts (see Chapter 6: Chicken, Fish, and Meat), sliced, shredded, or cut into bite-sized chunks; or about 2 cups shredded or sliced cooked chicken
1½ cups (about 4 ounces) shredded red cabbage
1 cup (about 3 ounces) mung bean sprouts
2 medium carrots, shredded (about 1 cup, packed)
2 scallions (white and tender greens parts), cut into very thin strips about 1-inch long
½ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2/3 cup cashews and/or slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a smallish bowl and whisk until blended. (Or put all the ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake it emphatically.)
2. Separate the romaine leaves, and then wash them in very cold water and spin them very dry. (If you have purchased hearts of romaine in a sealed pack, you can skip the washing; just cut off the stems and separate the leaves.) Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
3. Combine the romaine, chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, scallions, and cilantro in a large bowl, and toss to mix well. Just before serving, whisk the dressing—or shake it, if it’s in a jar—to recombine, and add about half. Toss to coat, and give it a taste. You might want to add the rest of the dressing now, or just let people add their own at the table. Top with nuts and serve immediately.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
Toss in some sliced water chestnuts (an 8-ounce can, rinsed and drained).
If you like a little heat, add a few dashes of Chinese chile oil to the dressing (start slow and taste as you go).
Whisk a teaspoon of wasabi paste or a pinch of powdered wasabi into the dressing for extra zing.
Toss in some mandarin orange segments (fresh seedless ones, or the drained contents of an 11-ounce can).
Sprinkle some chow mein noodles (the crunchy kind that come in a can) over the top.
Substitute chopped roasted peanuts for some or all of the cashews and/or almonds.
Sprinkle in 1 to 2 teaspoons white or black sesame seeds as you toss the salad. (They add a terrific little crunch.)
Toss in a handful of fresh snow peas, cut lengthwise into thin strips.
Make this vegan by replacing the chicken with strips of firm tofu.
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wilted spinach salad with hazelnuts, goat cheese, and golden raisins
Makes 4 servings
Wilting fresh spinach leaves just slightly is a really nice alternative to serving them utterly raw. Here, the wilting is done by dressing the leaves with heated oil, which cooks them slightly upon contact, tenderizing them perfectly. The oil is spiked with garlic and hazelnuts for flavor and texture, beautifully balanced by creamy-tangy goat cheese and the subtle sweetness of golden raisins. As you can see, this is a salad with no separate dressing, per se. Instead, the dressed salad comes together as you go, right in the bowl. Once assembled, this salad doesn’t keep well, so aim for putting it together just before serving. You can peel the garlic and chop the nuts well ahead of time, making the final preparations very quick.
About ¾ pound baby spinach leaves (two 6-ounce bags), washed and well dried 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts (also known as filberts)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 good-sized clove)
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons golden raisins
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (a 5-ounce package)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the spinach leaves in a large bowl. Break them into bite-sized pieces, if necessary, and remove the stems (or not, depending on your preference).
2. Pour the olive oil into a medium-small skillet and place it over low heat. Add the hazelnuts and cook, stirring intermittently, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden. Add the garlic during the last minute or so, cooking it slightly but not “frying” it. (Browning the garlic causes it to taste unpleasantly bitter.)
3. Drizzle this hot mixture directly over the spinach, scraping in as much of the oil as you can. (You can also toss some of the spinach back into the hot pan, stirring it around to swab up any extra oil left behind.) Use tongs to toss the spinach until it is completely coated with the oil, and the nuts and garlic are well distributed. Sprinkle with the salt as you toss. Add the raisins and goat cheese, and mix well.
4. At the very end, sprinkle in the vinegar and toss until it is thoroughly distributed. Serve immediately, passing a pepper mill.
GET CREATIVE
Use a high-quality olive oil for more flavor.
Use a good wine vinegar (such as sherry vinegar or Spanish Moscatel vinegar), one that is infused with fruit (such as raspberry vinegar), or cider vinegar.
Add a thinly sliced medium-sized tart green apple along with the raisins and cheese.
Slice 2 strips of bacon or pancetta into ¼-inch-wide strips. Brown these in a small skillet over medium-high heat until they are crisp and nicely browned. Drain them on a paper towel and add them to the oil along with the garlic.
Chop a hard-boiled egg (see Chapter 2: Salads) and sprinkle some over each serving—especially good if you’re adding bacon.
Top each serving with a still-warm, freshly poached egg—also fabulous with the addition of bacon.
Slice a small, perfectly ripe avocado and lay slices over each serving as a garnish.
Use 3 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries instead of, or in addition to, the raisins.
Substitute pumpkin seeds or coarsely chopped almonds or walnuts—all lightly toasted—for the hazelnuts.
Make this vegan by omitting the goat cheese.
taco salad with cumin-limecilantro dressing
Makes 2 to 3 large dinner-sized salads, or 4 to 6 smaller side salads
When you’re in the mood for a Mexican meal but want to keep it light, this is a nice way to go—crunchy and brimming with bright flavors. For a dinner party, taco salad is a perfect accompaniment to Steak Fajitas (Chapter 6: Chicken, Fish, and Meat). The dressing keeps for weeks in a tightly lidded jar in the refrigerator.
cumin-lime-cilantro dressing
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon minced garlic (half a small clove)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced cilantro leaves
6 tablespoons olive oil
salad
One 15-ounce can pinto beans or black beans (about 1½ cups cooked beans)
1 pound romaine lettuce (a large head or “hearts”)
1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (or bite-sized pieces of any shape)
1/3 cup very thinly sliced red onion (about half a medium onion)
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