3-9-2011 Salad Recipes

We love salads in my house. I usually make a salad for every dinner, and at least 2 salads for shabbat dinners. I am always looking for a new and exciting salad recipe to try.
Rarely do I use a bottled salad dressing. Making homemade salad dressing is quick and makes a huge difference. I like to save glass jars to make and store dressings. Jelly or jam jars are a good size and work great. Just wash and dry the jar thoroughly before hand. When you make dressing and you shake the jar with the ingredients inside it will emulsify the dressing nicely.
When my friend Kim, had a baby I brought her and her family dinner. I made her a salad with dressing and brought the dressing over in a glass jar. A year later she showed me was still using the same salad dressing jar, it's been 2 years now and I bet she still uses it! She told me she loves it.

Here are some of my all time favorite salad recipes:

These First 3 salads are all amazing and I have to give Aidy credit because the first time I ever ate these were at her house:

Cabbage Salad- this is so simple yet always delicious, goes really well with everything

1 bag angel hair shredded cabbbage, with or w/o carrots and purple cabbage

1/4 C. slivered almonds, toasted at 350 for around10 minutes (you gotta watch them) so they don't burn

Dressing:

1/4 C. sugar

1/4 C. white vinegar

1/4 C. vegetable oil

Mix dressing in jar. Place cabbage and almonds in a bowl, pour dressing over and serve immeadiately.

Spinach Hearts of Palm Salad:

from Kosher Palette, this is an all around favorite. Everyone loves this salad.

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) bags fresh spinach, rinsed and dried
• 1 (14.25 ounce) can hearts of palm, drained and chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 large avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 (10 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. In a large serving bowl, toss the spinach with hearts of palm, tomatoes, avocados, mushrooms, and almonds.
2. Combine oil, vinegar, ketchup, garlic and sugar in a jar. add salt, mustard and paprika. Cover with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously until well blended.
3. Before serving, pour some of dressing  over salad, and toss to coat evenly.

Strawberry Mango Green Salad (Kosher Palette, the original version is called strawberry mango mesclun salad, but I prefer to use mixed greens, as mesclun is hard to find)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 8 cups mixed salad greens
• 2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/2 pound fresh strawberries, quartered
• 1 mango - peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup slivered almonds-toasted at 350 for around10 minutes (you gotta watch them) so they don't burn

Place the sugar, oil, salt, and vinegar in a jar with a lid. Seal jar, and shake vigorously to mix.
1. In a large bowl, mix salad greens, sweetened dried cranberries, strawberries, mango, and onion. To serve, toss with dressing and sprinkle with almonds. You will have leftover dressing.

Broccoli Cashew Salad (another winner from Susie Fishbein)

1 head broccoli, stems discarded, and chopped into small florets

1/2 small red onion, finely diced

1 C. mayo

1/2 C. sugar

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 C. raisins

1 C. raw sunflower seeds

1 C. raw cashews

Place the broccoli, red onion, cashews, raisins, and sunflower seeds  in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl mix together the dressing, when I measure it I just eyeball it for this one.

Chop Salad Recipe adapted from Kosher by Design Entertains by Susie Fishbein, although the combo of ingredients in this salad seems strange, once you try it you will be hooked.  This is the second time I am posting this recipe.

Lettuce,  any type, chopped if iceberg or romaine, I prefer iceberg for this one
Handful of Craisins
2 small cucumbers or 1 hothouse cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 mango, peeled and diced
12 graped tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
1/4 C. mayo
1/4 C. honey
1/4 C. canola oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar (I love Bragg's found at Whole Foods)
1 T. spicy brown mustard
3/4 t. salt, (or to taste)
pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar until it is all emulsified. Pour dressing on just before serving, you may have extra.

Enough Susie Fishbein recipes. Here are some others:

Thousand Island Wedges

1 head iceberg lettuce
1 C. mayonaise (I suggest splurging and using full fat mayo, not low or fat free, it really makes a difference)
1/2 C. chili sauce (can be found near ketchup at most grocery stores)
1/4 C. sweet pickle relish
1 pinch salt and pepper, or to taste
6 green onions, chopped finely
1 tomato, finely chopped

Cut iceberg into wedges by removing core, and then cutting in half, then in quarters, then cutting each quarter in half.
Mix mayo, chili sauce, relish, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
Pour over wedges.  Sprinkle with green onions and tomatoes.

Fatoush Salad
Fatoush = Skinny Toush :)
This salad is refreshing. I usually crumble pita chips on top of the salad like croutons. Stacy's pita chips are now kosher, yay! You can use any flavor pita chip.
If you are not a fan of mint and/or parsley, you can leave it out.

Dressing:
1/4 C. fresh squeezed lemon juice, no substitutions
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt, or to taste, be sure to taste and see if the saltiness is to your liking
1/8 t. cumin
1/4 t. black pepper
3/4 C. olive oil

1 large head romaine, chopped
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
handful Kalamata olives
2 T. fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely
1 T. fresh mint, chopped finely
1/4 C. feta, optional for a dairy meal

Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously until emulsified.
In a large bowl place remaining ingredients. Toss with dressing. Crumble pita chips ontop.

Finally a few salad making tips:

1. After thoroughly washing the lettuce, I cut it, and then wrap it in a clean dish towel, and place it in the fridge until I am ready to use it. The towel soaks up the excess moisture and will keep the lettuce crisp. This secret works better than a salad spinner.

2.  Salad dressing will last in the refrigerator for a few days. If you are looking to save time, make the dressing in advance and pull out when ready to use.

3. When putting dressing on the salad, start with a little bit of dressing, slowly add more to make it to your liking. There is nothing worse than an overdressed soggy salad. Also, don't toss salad with dressing until right before you serve it.

4. If you want to easily remove the core from a head of iceberg lettuce. Hold the lettuce with stem facing down and bang it hard on a cutting. This will completely loosen or break it. Turn head over and remove core.

That's it for salads for tonight. One of these days I will figure out the measurements for my caesar salad recipe. I always eyeball it, and it turns out differently each time, but always excellent. Have fun making salads.

Pin It