Category — Salads

There is a surprising lack of definitive information available about the origin of salad dressing, and why people started putting various concoctions made with oils, vinegars, herbs, and spices on their leafy greens. I’ve heard that it originally had nothing to do with taste—it was because people believed that the ingredients in the dressings themselves had medicinal properties. I’ve also heard that people knew that the vitamins in salad greens were fat-soluble and that our bodies would be more likely to absorb them when mixed with some oil. I’ve also heard it was because the greens needed some “dressing up” to taste good, and the greens are so healthy that dressing them up was the way to get people to eat what was good for them.

I’m pretty sure all of the above were/are true to some degree, but regardless, dressing up a salad is obviously common practice today, and in fact the options for what to dress it up with have become nearly limitless. Just head for the salad dressing aisle at the grocery store, and you can find spicy, creamy, oily, smooth, chunky, and tangy dressings, in full-fat, low-fat, and non-fat versions.

But did you know that just by looking in your cupboards (and possibly the fridge) you can find the ingredients to quickly and easily make delicious, good-for-you dressings for your salads? It’s true! And making your dressings yourself means less cost and less potential for added ingredients you may not want, such as the added sugars, sodium, calcium disodium EDTA, phosphoric acid, and water (who wants to pay for watering down their salad?) that are commonly found in commercial salad dressings.

Now, you won’t be able to make a completely non-fat salad dressing following the recipes below—for that, feel free to try just balsamic vinegar and/or lemon juice. But if you go that route, consider adding some avocado or lean meat to your dinner plate so that your body will get some fat along with all of those fat-soluable vitamins!

For a basic salad dressing, start with 3 parts oil (I usually choose olive oil), 1 part lemon juice or vinegar (balsamic, red wine, white wine, etc.) and sea salt and pepper to taste. Voila! Even when I am most rushed getting dinner to the table, I can put together some variation on this to dress up our salads. Often I add minced garlic and basil or dill as well, but now I am getting ahead of myself.

The way I learned to start experimenting with making my own salad dressing was by taking the dressing ingredients from other salads I like, such as Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad or Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Mint and using those dressings on green salads. Soon I realized how easy it is, and how I can play around with the amounts and choices of oils, vinegars, and spices, and I haven’t even considered buying a bottled dressing since!

Here are two of my favorite staple salad dressing recipes. Try them, or get inspired by one of them and mix and match ingredients and create your own!

Italian Dressing

This one came from my newest treasure, The Spice Kitchen, a cookbook by Sarah and Katie at tsp spices. I recently ordered and received a super fun delivery of all sorts of fun organic spices and this cookbook from them. I’ll be sharing more recipes and love for their products in future posts, I am sure! See below the recipe for modifications I’ve made.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. minced shallots
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, shallots, sugar, mustard, basil, oregano, and salt in a small bowl. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly, until blended.

I like to double this recipe and keep it in a glass bottle in the fridge. Since oregano is forbidden in my house (my husband can’t stand it!) I just use extra basil in place of the oregano, and I rarely remember to grab shallots at the store so I just use extra garlic instead. And as always, I use sea salt instead of regular salt!

Egg-Free Caesar Dressing

I don’t know how to source this recipe because it’s based on tweaking a ton of them that I found out there on the internet. Give it a try, and tweak away if you like!

Yield: approx. 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 large (or 2 small) clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• sea salt
• black pepper

Directions: Whisk thoroughly, or combine all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Related posts:

As we sat down to eat dinner last night, I realized that what I prepared was a candidate for serious seasonal identity crisis. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’ve been learning a lot about Ayurveda, and the book I am reading currently is Dr. John Douillard’s 3-Season Diet. In it, he explains very logically why we should eat seasonally, and explains how. I haven’t finished the book yet but I have thumbed through the appendix that contains each season’s list of foods and spices labeled as “Good, Best, Reduce, or Avoid,” and sadly, I didn’t do so well with tonight’s meal.

First, I marinated our Ahi Tuna steaks (“good!”) from Trader Joe’s in a marinade I made using olive oil (“best!”), soy sauce (“best!”), a dash of orange juice (“good!”), minced garlic (“reduce”), and minced ginger (“reduce”). Ginger and garlic are both warming foods, so they aren’t ideal for summertime meals. Oops!

I also wanted to try out a recipe I found when writing my “Fabulous Fruits” post yesterday highlighting cantaloupe and watermelon: Minty Melon Salad. I cut that recipe in half (see below) and reduced the chili powder simply because I wasn’t feeling too adventurous and was apprehensive about the combo of chili powder and cantaloupe. As it turns out, that was a good seasonal move because while the cantaloupe (“best!”) is a great cooling summer fruit and the mint was “good,” limes are (surprisingly) best to “reduce” and chilies (not surprisingly) are best to “avoid” in the summer.

Despite not being the ideal summery foods, our dinner was delicious and even though it was combined with the chili powder, I found the cantaloupe and mint combo very refreshing. I think we’ll be trying this salad again without the chili powder at all!

We finished dinner off with my newest wholesome treat discovery: an ice cream sandwich from Sweet Bite Creamery.

I discovered Sweet Bite last week at the Alexandria Farmers’ Market, and visited them again yesterday at the Reston Farmers’ Market. Both the ice cream and cookies in these yummy treats are made by the co-founders, Tricia and Ashley, using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients! My husband and I split the Minted Lemon Blackberry pictured above and savored every bite. For anyone local, I heartily recommend that you catch Sweet Bite at the Oakton Farmers’ Market tomorrow (Saturday) morning!

Here’s my modified recipe for the Minty Melon Salad, adapted from the Whole Foods website.

Minty Melon Salad
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium ripe cantaloupe or honeydew melon, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp chili powder, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl and toss well.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning with chili powder.
3. Chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes or more, then serve cold.

P.S. Please excuse the less-than-stellar photos for the past few days. We had to un-borrow the great camera for a few days, but hope to have it back soon!

Related posts:

Since I had both millet and wheat berries in my kitchen, I was excited to find this recipe on Foodista! The ingredients make me think of it more as a fall salad, since it contains apples and sweet potatoes and millet is technically a “warming food” even when served in a cold dish like this one, but it made a nice summer evening dinner tonight!

Millet and Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

• ½ cup uncooked wheat berries
• 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 cup uncooked millet
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced (1 1/3 cups)
• 6 scallions with white and light green parts,thinly sliced
• 4 small celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled halved lengthwise, and diced
• 1 medium apple, cored and diced
• Mustard-Dill Dressing
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Soak your grains: In one bowl or saucepan, combine wheat berries and cold water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and let stand at least 6 hours or overnight. In another bowl or saucepan, combine millet and cold water to cover. Cover and let stand at least 6 hours or overnight as well.
2. Drain wheat berries and set aside while you bring 4 cups fresh water to a boil in the saucepan.
3. Add wheat berries and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the saucepan and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add drained millet and 1/4 teaspoon salt and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Place in large, shallow container, fluff with fork and spread out. Let stand until cool.
5. While grains are cooking, if using walnuts, preheat oven to 350 F. Spread nuts on baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
6. In small saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add sweet potato and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until potato is just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain well.
7. In large bowl, combine wheat berries, millet, sweet potato, toasted walnuts, scallions, celery, cucumber and apple. Add Mustard-Dill Dressing and toss gently but thoroughly to blend. Season with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Millet and Wheat Berry Salad

Mustard-Dill Dressing

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl or glass jar with lid. Whisk or shake until well mixed.

• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 6 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon Dijon (or Stoneground) mustard

Mustard-Dill Dressing

Related posts:

If you cook up a bunch of brown rice on the weekend, this can be a very quick and easy weeknight meal to put together! This tasty salad is great for a summer lunch, dinner, or as a side dish for a cookout.

Serves 4.

• 1/2 cup short-grain brown rice (or 1-1/2 cups if already cooked)
• 1 medium zucchini (1/2 pound)
• 2 celery ribs
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 bunch arugula, spinach, or lettuce (4 ounces)
• 4 scallions
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon stoneground (or other coarse-grained) mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. If rice is uncooked, fill a 2-quart saucepan three fourths full and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 25 minutes.
3. Drain rice in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain rice well.
4. While rice is cooking, cut zucchini, celery, and carrot into 1/4-inch pieces, remove stems from greens and chop leaves, and chop scallions (use the green stalks and the small white onions).
5. Fill a bowl with ice and cold water.
6. In a saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the zucchini, celery, and carrot for 1 minute.
7. Drain vegetables in a sieve and transfer to bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain well.
8. Whisk together lemon juice, broth, mustard, oil, salt, and pepper.
9. Combine rice, blanched vegetables, greens, and scallions, and add dressing, tossing to combine well.
10. Season with salt and pepper and serve salad at room temperature.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Related posts:

When I found this recipe in a magazine recently, I knew I’d have to try it soon. Chickpeas have become a recent favorite ingredient (or snack, all alone!) of mine recently, and I have 2 mint plants that have been growing quite well and deserve to be part of a recipe other than mojitos!

I served this cold as a main dish, but it occurred to me later that it might have been intend to be hot! It would work both ways, and certainly works as a main or as a tasty side dish for lamb, chicken, or fish.

P.S. To learn more about quinoa, check out the first post in my Great Grains series!

Yield: 6 servings (1 cup each)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 8 large cherry tomatoes or 4 small tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp stone-ground or Dijon mustard
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked, cooked, and drained OR 2 (10 oz.) cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• optional: 1/4 cup kalamata olives, drained
• optional: 3 ounces goat’s feta cheese

Directions:

1. If cooking dried and soaked chickpeas, add them to a pot of fresh water and bring to a boil. Strain foam off the top, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook with lid on for approximately one hour. Drain and refrigerate if not ready to proceed with following steps yet.
2. Bring 1 cup of water to a gentle boil, then add quinoa. Turn heat down to medium-high to keep a gentle boil going for 12-15 minutes. Pour quinoa into a fine sieve to drain, then tip into a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
3. Cut the tomatoes into bite-size pieces and set aside.
4. Add chickpeas and olives (if including) to quinoa.
5. Mix the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl using a whisk.
6. Pour dressing over chickpeas and quinoa, lightly tossing to coat.
7. Just before serving, add the tomatoes and mint.
8. If using feta, crumble it into the salad as well.
9. Toss gently and serve.

Adapted from Living Without magazine, June/July 2010 issue

Related posts:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked over
• 1 medium onion, halved
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil OR 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the peas and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let stand 1 hour.
2. Drain peas and return to the saucepan with enough fresh water to cover by 1-inch. Add the onion halves. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until peas are tender, about 45 minutes.
3. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Drain the beans well, discarding the onion halves. Rinse the beans under cold running water, drain again, and let cool completely.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, basil, garlic, sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until the basil vinaigrette is smooth.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the peas, the chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, and basil vinaigrette. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Related posts:

I love this salad! It combines two of my favorite vegetables with a tangy dressing and is quick and easy to make. I have yet to experiment with adding quinoa to add some protein and make it even more substantial, but I have a feeling it would be delicious.

The contrasting textures of crunchy broccoli and creamy, soft avocado make this quick salad interesting and delicious. It is rich in monounsaturated fat and full of protective phytochemicals and fiber. Don’t forget to use the broccoli stems, which, if properly trimmed, are as good to eat as the florets. Cut a slice off the butt end of each large stalk and peel the stalks just below the outer fibrous layer to expose the tender, lighter-colored flesh within.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound broccoli
• 1 ripe avocado (you can add a 2nd if you really love avocado!)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grainy prepared mustard

Directions:

1. Trim and wash the broccoli and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Steam or boil the broccoli in a large pot until it is just crunchy-tender and bright green, then drain it well, and cool.
2. Peel and pit the avocado, then cut it into small cubes. Fold the avocado into the broccoli.
3. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard together in a small bowl, until well mixed.
4. Toss the broccoli and avocado with the dressing.

Source for text and recipe: Cameron Rupprecht

Related posts:

I’ve combined a few Caesar Salad recipes (most of which are meant for 4-6 people) to make this one, and may keep tweaking it here and there but think it’s ready to share. It’s one of the only recipes I have ever made that practically had my husband licking his plate when it was gone!

Serves: 2 for a main course or 4 for a side salad

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled, smashed, then minced
• 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled
• 1/3 baguette OR a slice or two of French bread, preferably a day old, sliced thin
• 1/8 cup freshly juiced lemon juice (plus more to taste)
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste, OR 1 anchovy, smashed and minced OR 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• Freshly ground black pepper (1/8 teaspoon or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large head of lettuce, rinsed, patted dry, wilted outer leaves discarded
• Optional: 1-2 chicken breasts, cooked/grilled and cut into pieces OR 4-12 shrimp, peeled and cooked/grilled

Directions:
The first 3 steps can be made ahead.

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and minced garlic. Let sit for half an hour.
2. Rub the insides of a large wooden bowl well with the peeled garlic clove.
3. While the oil is sitting, make the croutons:
   1. Spread the baguette slices out over a baking sheet (may need to do in batches), lined with parchment paper.
   2. Brush or spray with olive oil (or melted butter, or if you want garlicky croutons, dip pastry brush in the garlic infused oil you have sitting in step 1).
   3. Broil for a couple of minutes until the tops are lightly browned. (Note: do not walk away, these can easily go from browned to burnt.)
   4. Remove and let cool.
4. Pour olive oil mixture into wooden bowl and add anchovies and egg. Whisk until creamy.
5. Add salt and pepper and 1/8 cup of lemon juice.
6. Whisk in half of the Parmesan cheese.
7. Taste, add more lemon juice to taste. The lemon should give an edge to the dressing, but not overwhelm it.
8. Using your hands, tear off chunks of lettuce from the heads of lettuce (do not use a knife to cut). Add to the oil mixture one piece at a time and toss until coated.
9. Add the rest of the Parmesan cheese, toss.
10. Coarsely chop the toasted bread and add (with the crumbs from the chopping) to the salad. Toss.
11. If desired, add pieces of chicken or shrimp. Serve immediately.

Another new favorite! This was like making a (yummy) casserole on the stovetop, and it could definitely serve 6 (or more) people. This was the first time I saw a recipe that said to “dry-toast” the quinoa but I looked it up–you just cook the quinoa in a pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Quinoa is a superfood that has all 8 amino acids and couldn’t be easier to prepare. It is also high in protein. Toasting the quinoa in a dry pan then rinsing it gives more depth to the flavor.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups quinoa, dry toasted and rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Dash salt and pepper
• 2 zucchini, cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 cup basil leaves, torn up
• 2 lemons, juiced
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup slivered raw almonds

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil in a medium sized pot. Add quinoa, chicken, a pinch of salt, pepper, and broth.
2. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
3. After 15 minutes remove lid and stir in zucchini, lemon juice, almonds and ¾ of the basil.
4. Turn heat off and replace lid for two minutes.
5. Finish with the remaining basil and Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Mom-A-Licious

Related posts:

The warm weather lately has me craving summery foods so tonight’s dinner was this yummy salad! I think tomorrow I will make some quinoa and mix it in with the leftovers to give it a different twist.

This salad combines some of the best things about summer—crunchy cucumbers and juicy tomatoes—with creamy avocado and fresh herbs. The all-raw ingredients are bursting with flavor and provide a nice mix of nutrients: vitamins K, E and C, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and potassium. And, as a bonus, nearly all of the calories in this low-glycemic dish come from healthy fat.

Makes about 8 one-half cup servings (we each ate about 1.25 cups since this was our main course)

Ingredients:

• 2 small cucumbers, peeled and cubed—I used 1 large English cucumber
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cubed
• 1 large avocado, cubed
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. fresh herbs such as basil and parsley—I used basil
• ¼ tsp. salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cube tomatoes and cucumbers and place in bowl.
2. Cube avocado and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Mix with tomato and cucumber.
3. Whisk dressing ingredients, pour over veggies and toss lightly. Serve immediately or chill first. Serve with chunks of rustic bread.

Related posts: