April 1999

SALADS

The days are lengthening, the warm moment of the afternoon is stretching into hours, and soon we'll be eating outside. I've made a soup every day since Thanksgiving, but now it really looks like spring at the farmers' market, and I start to contemplate salad lunches on the terrace

Unfortunately, salads still get no respect. Our consciousness about healthful eating is growing, and main-course salads are a popular menu item - yet most restaurant salads are dreadful - an afterthought, and a throwaway dish.

Not surprisingly, salads are as good as the thought and the ingredients that go into them. In the "duh" department, I'll just say again that to make a good salad, you have to start with the best, freshest produce. Then, think about how things go together. What are the specific flavors? What are the textures? What is sweet, what is spicy, what is soft, or crunchy, rich, or pungent? And finally, what is the right oil, the right vinegar, the perfect condiment?

We're not accustomed to thinking about salads in such specific detail because so often we're told to "make a tossed salad while the pasta cooks" (or the gratin bakes), with no further information, as if it didn't matter. But it matters. I have thirty-five salad recipes in The New Vegetarian Epicure, and most of them are very specific.

Mixed Greens

I start by considering the balance of spicy leaves with mild ones. I love arugula and raddichio, watercress and tender mustard greens, radish sprouts and spring onions - all very assertive flavors. A simple plate of peppery arugula, dressed with fine, fruity olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar, is a great antipasto salad. But more often I combine those strong flavors with something like sweet butter lettuce, Belgian endive, or oak leaf lettuce, for a larger, main-dish salad.

At this time of year I also like to add the tender shoots of sweet pea vines to a salad, or crisp, raw asparagus, sliced very thinly at an angle. Young spinach leaves are nice, and so is baby bok choy, pulled apart at the hearts. I like paper-thin slices of raw fennel, or radishes. And I'm a great herb fancier. I love the explosive taste of fresh mint leaves or whole sprigs of cilantro in a salad. (The "Spa Salad" that appears on this site now as a sample recipe for The New Vegetarian Epicure is a nice example.)

Don't be afraid to mix fruit into salads. If you like those peppery greens, the sweet contrast is especially nice. My all-time favorite is still the salad of arugula and persimmons that I make in the fall (The New Vegetarian Epicure, p. 343). I combine a lot of arugula with a little bit of radicchio and watercress, then add thin slices of crisp Fuyu persimmons, along with a bit of Roquefort cheese and some walnuts. I've also had great success with pears, apples, citrus fruits, figs... Try Fuji apples with radicchio and fennel. Or dried pears, sliced thin, mixed with walnuts and watercress. Or adapt the fall salad by using blood oranges and soft raisins.

Dressing

When you have made your salad with these great, flavorful ingredients, you will find that it needs only a subtle touch of oil and vinegar. Most salads are over-dressed for my taste, and it's usually a case of bland lettuces in search of some flavor. You don't have to put your salad in a bath of oil! A little bit goes a long way, but you must use only the best oil and vinegar. I most often choose a great virgin olive oil from Italy or from California, but I also love pumpkinseed oil from Austria, and in certain salads, a few drops of dark toasted sesame oil.

The Salad Meal

When you start making delicious salads, you will sometimes want salad to be a whole meal. That means the addition of something heartier than leaves, usually something cooked - perhaps legumes, grains, or cooked vegetables. And that means planning ahead, or knowing how to use what's around. Leftovers often find their way into salads very successfully. But a word of caution - the salad is not the compost, where you throw in anything that didn't get used up last night. Use leftovers with care, creatively.

Beans

Beans are a natural choice for a hearty salad (no, not that vinegary war-horse, the three-bean salad). Tuscan white beans, simmered with sage and garlic, are fabulous over young arugula, strewn with big shavings of good Parmesan cheese. This might be the shining example of the beans and greens pairing. Make your Tuscan beans in a large pot - they recycle into a beautiful soup as well.

Another wonderful salad can be made with crisp greens, such as Romaine lettuce and shreds of cabbage or radish, with some spicy black beans ladled on top. I add cilantro sprigs and a spoonful of raw chile salsa, and crumble on a bit of fresh white cheese - it's wonderful. If you have leftover cooked nopalitos, this is the place for them. If I have avocados I add a few slices, and then I don't need any oil at all - the beans, salsa and avocados combine to give it just the right sauciness.

Roasted Vegetables

Both grilled and roasted vegetables are also superb in salads. I roast whole beets together with cloves of garlic, wrapped up in a foil packet. The cooked beets slip out of their skins easliy and are just delicious sliced into a green salad. The garlic can be mashed into some olive oil and lemon juice for a very nice dressing. My other favorite is winter squash, cut up in pieces, touched with olive oil, lightly salted, and roasted with onions until the edges are browning - this is wonderful with any slightly bitter greens, as are roasted yams or sweet potatoes. Whenever I roast vegetable, I plan some leftovers to use in a salad the next day.

Grains

I find the combination of grains and leafy greens particularly satisfying. Try rice, bulgur, or barley. One of my favorite salads was created when I had leftover wheat and lentil pilaf. I spooned it over a mix of fresh leaves and thin-sliced raw vegetables. Then I scattered slivered almonds and red grapes over everything. It was terrific, and substantial without being too heavy.

And of course, there are cooked salads, something I'd like to discuss another time because there is so much to say about it. For now, I'll just describe what I had for lunch today: I sautéed a whole lot of chopped green and red chard in a spoonful of olive oil with some garlic, and tossed it with some lemon juice. I let the chard cool while I sliced some small, boiled redskin potatoes. I salted these, and dressed them lightly with a bit more oil, some rice vinegar, a very small amount of minced onion, and a generous dusting of salt and pepper. Then I tossed together the chard, the potatoes, and a handful of fresh chopped dill. I crumbled a little fresh white cheese on top. Boy, was it good.

For a tasty Lentil and Leek Salad that can be eaten alone or combined with some mixed greens, see New Recipes. And for members of the soup of the month club, I'm including something I had a couple of weeks agao, a recipe for an asparagus and barley soup designed just for spring.

April 1999 recipe