Build Better Salads
by Nathan Carey (Food and Health Editor)
With Spring just around the corner, it’s time to lighten up our meals with brighter ingredients from the garden. Every year when the sun starts to shine that little bit longer in the evening there’s only one thing on my mind – a freshly made salad. Salad definitely has a shaky reputation in the media and popular culture. If you ask most people what a salad is they’ll jump to the classic iceberg lettuce and dressing archetype. This likely stems from the universal experience of eating soggy leaves soaked in a heavy dressing. Unappetising right? This preconceived notion of a salad's components leads to boring meals that make you wish you just packed a sandwich for lunch instead. Salad is also often relegated to side dish status, being served alongside a “main meal”. However, what if I told you that it doesn’t need to be this way. Salads can be so much more than soggy iceberg, in fact some of my favourite ones feature hearty vegetables and grains in place of lettuce! Merriam Webster defines salad as “Various, usually cold, dishes such as small pieces of food mixed with dressing”. This broad definition allows salads to soar in terms of ingredients and flavour combinations. I’ve compiled here some of the best ways to elevate your salad game to the next level.
Why So Green?
It’s not that I have anything against iceberg lettuce, but we have a rocky relationship… with a 96% water content, iceberg really lacks any strong flavour of its own. Of course when dressed up appropriately it can serve as a nice salad base but honestly there are a myriad of better options out there. Why settle for watery mediocrity when you could build a salad base out of spicy rocket or chicory. Combining greens together is another great way of bulking up any salad. Try adding smaller leaves such as pea shoots, broccoli or radish microgreens. These young plants are crisp and fresh and add a delicate flavour to dishes. Microgreens are rich in many vitamins and are a great source of iron and zinc. They also elevate the visual appeal of salads with their wispy tendrils. On the topic of greenery, I cannot forget to mention herbs. Layering tender herbs like coriander, mint or parsley into your leafy mix is a true game changer. I like to go with about one quarter herbs to 3 quarters of other greens to balance out flavours and allow them to truly shine. If you want to get super fancy you can even add some edible flowers to adorn the top of your salads (just be sure they really are edible before adding them!). Perhaps you want to skip out on greens altogether, that’s alright! Using a different base for your salads can take them in new directions. Grains like quinoa, buckwheat or barley provide a blank canvas upon which you can build up layers of flavour. Mixing spices with other ingredients cut into small bite size pieces evokes a chopped salad vibe and are great for on the go lunches or meal prepping. The grains will hold up much better than tender leaves. In my opinion herbs shine the best in this application adding a zing to the heartiness of grain salads.
Get Veggie With It
Next up on the chopping block, or chopping board if you will, are vegetables! Veggies are an excellent way of bulking up a salad into lunch or dinner status. Many classic salads include sliced raw vegetables like cucumber or shredded carrots. However when I think of vegetables I want them grilled or roasted to bring out their natural sweetness and add a caramelized note to the fresher ingredients. Think sweet potatoes roasted on high until they are velvety on the inside and crispy on the outside, or mushrooms glistening in sesame oil after being blasted with heat on a hot pan. Cooking your vegetables beforehand allows you to be creative in your salad making, incorporating ingredients that you mightn’t have thought about using before. If you do plan on adding thinly sliced raw onions or other alliums, be sure to shock them in cold water for about a minute before adding. This quick step eliminates their strong bite and crisps them up even more. Edamame is another great vegetable to add into your salad bowl. These immature soybeans are a vibrant green colour adding a pop of colour to your dishes as well as being a superfood containing plenty of fibre and lots of healthy fatty acids.
Pick a Peck of Pickled Peppers (and other veggies)
Another way of elevating the vegetables you are adding to your salads is to transform their flavours through the power of pickling. There are two ways to go about this. The first method involves submerging your chopped produce in an acidic brine usually composed of vinegar and spices. An easy way of creating your very own pickles is to add one part water and two parts vinegar to a small saucepan. Adding one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt is usually a good starting point in terms of flavouring. I also like to add some whole black peppercorns or fennel seeds. Heat the whole solution until it just starts to boil then remove. Add your chopped vegetables to an airtight jar and pour over the pickling liquid. Once stored in the fridge, your pickles should be good to eat within about 24-48 hours, with the flavours becoming more pronounced the longer you leave them. The other method of transforming vegetables is through the process of fermentation. This process harnesses the microbes already present in the air and on your produce to create a tantalizing sour flavour. Lacto-fermentation takes longer than vinegar based pickling, but yields a deeper more nuanced flavour. Hardy vegetables like cucumbers, beets, asparagus and radishes do best here as they can hold up to the fermentation process better. Add the veggies to a jar on a zeroed scale and fill with water leaving about one to two centimetres of headspace. Record the weight and calculate how much salt you will need for the brine. 2-3% is best for most vegetables but a quick google will help you figure out the specifics. Add the salt to the jar and mix well ensuring the salt is fully dissolved. Place a heavy object on the veggies to ensure they remain fully submerged in the brine (specific fermentation weights can be found online if you plan on making lots of these). Cap the jar but not too tightly as gas will need to escape to prevent a build-up. Place the jar on your counter at room temperature for about a week before you start enjoying it. Once the desired taste is reached they can be stored in the fridge with the lid tightly fastened. Pickled and fermented vegetables are a great way of adding a sharp flavour to your salads and can be a great way of cutting through a creamy dressing.
Dress It Up
The final step to bring your salad together is to add the perfect dressing and toppings. There are many schools of thought on this topic but I’m going to focus on some prominent favourites. Vinaigrettes are an excellent way to add an extra zing of flavour and are really simple to make yourself. The classic ratio is 3 parts fat to one part acid but I personally prefer a little extra acid. Fats like olive oil, sesame oil and mayonnaise serve as great partners for acids such as lime juice, rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Other great flavours including miso, garlic, ginger or gochujang can be combined with these to create next level dressings. Grab a small jar, add all the ingredients and give them a good shake to emulsify. Pour over your other salad components and toss well ensuring every bite is even. If you're a texture person like me, as an extra special treat you can add some crispy crunchy toppings. My favourites are chopped toasted nuts, sesame seeds or crispy onions. These final touches really do make all the difference!
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And there you have it dear reader, I implore you to go forth and create some delicious salads! As always if you are inspired by or make any of the recipes featured in the Express, we would love to see them! You can post a picture on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #ExpressCooks.
