For much of my childhood, I thought that the definition of salad was iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, perhaps a few radish slices, and a bottled salad dressing, like French or Italian dressing.
I had no clue that 10-15 years later, making up intricate and varied delicious salads would be one of my favorite hobbies. In fact, my salads are my foods that tend to get the biggest compliments when served to guests, and its not rare that you’ll find at least 4 or 5 different salads at my dinner table- I’ve even served a meal where there were 14 different salads on the menu!
See, the reason I generally don’t use cookbooks for making salad (or really for most things, in fact) is because when you read a recipe and want to replicate it, it often means going out to the store and buying all the ingredients listed. (This is especially true for salads, as they usually are made with highly perishable produce, not things people can stock long term in their stockpile.)
When you buy something for a specific recipe, it usually isn’t the most frugal move, as you aren’t buying it because it’s on sale or in season, and often you make a special, additional trip to the grocery store to get it (a bad frugal move).
The most frugal recipes, the most frugal salad recipes, are the ones made with whatever it is you already have in the house, that you purchased because it was in season and on sale, or better yet, that you grew or foraged yourself.
The thing is- you aren’t likely to find a recipe to make a salad using exactly whatever it is that you have in the house, but with the proper technique, you too can make the perfect salad that is ultra frugal.
The Background
Growing up, I had salad in two places. The school cafeteria, and my family’s dining room table. The school lunch ladies always mixed up the exact same tossed salad- the aforementioned iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, and radish slices, served with your choice of bottled dressing.
My mom, bless her, though she can cook up some really terrific dishes at times, can be a bit of a picky eater, and she has some rigid ideas in her head about how foods should and shouldn’t be, which put a damper on her (and therefore my) ability to construct a variety of different salads.
How’s that?
Well, my mom doesn’t like mustard, vinegar, anything remotely bitter, or anything sharp/spicy. And she has this idea that the only things that belong in a salad are vegetables and dressing. Oh, and that fruit and vegetables should not, under any circumstance, be combined. (I remember her “horror” when some freinds passed on their leftovers to us and she discovered that *gasp*- they put onions and fruit in the same chutney!)
I’m not like that.
As a kid, I think my favorite salad I had was one with lettuce, veggies, candied almonds, and craisins that I had at a friend’s house. Another time, I had a salad that contained corn chips as well as all the veggies. This opened the door to a whole new world of salad making to me, that yes, you can add other, creative things to salad, and in fact, they don’t ruin it- they make it even better!
The Perfect Salad- The Art of Balance
Salad making is not a science, that is for sure. (Baking, on the other hand, usually is.)
When it comes to making the perfect salad, especially if you want to make it gourmet, you have to learn how to strike a balance between all the different components that make a salad. The perfect salad is an edible masterpiece, something aimed at pleasing many different senses, but most importantly, taste, touch, and to a slightly lesser degree, but still important, visual appeal. (Smell and sound play a minor role as well, but I won’t be touching on that here.)
Think about it- what is the difference between some carrot sticks and a salad, especially a terrific one?
Variety.
Variety is one of the most important things in a good salad.
And now with all that intro, what do you want in a salad?
- You want a medley of tastes, is the most important.
- A variety of textures is another.
- And you want to appeal to the visual sense as well, as we eat first with our eyes and only after with our mouth.
So, how do you create that perfect medley?
Taste:
You want your salad to have some of each of the five main tastes- sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and bitter. (Sorry Mom; yes, I did say bitter and spicy!)
Texture:
Your salad should ideally have as many of these as possible- soft, crunchy/chewy, creamy/smooth, wet/watery, and leafy.
Visual:
If you can get as much variety of color as possible in a salad, it’s perfect. It doesn’t need to be a huge amount of all sorts of color, but if you can even have a touch of foods that contrast in color from the rest of the salad, it’s ideal. Try to have at least some bright colors in your salad.
You also want to either have uniformity or variation in the size and shape of the ingredients in your salad. This is a little less important, though.
The Details- What Foods Work For a Salad?
At first, when you hear about what makes a perfect salad, it may sound extremely overwhelming. How can you get that many things into just one salad? Would it even taste good?
I thought I’d go through some potential ingredients with you, discus their qualities, so you can see how they’d fit in to the perfect salad.
- Lettuce- Iceberg lettuce is crunchy, watery, and a bit sweet. Romaine lettuce adds bulk as well as a touch of bitterness to a salad. Lettuces are a good way to bulk up salads and balance out other textures so that the people eating the salad won’t become overwhelmed.
- Tomatoes- depending on their stage of ripeness, either are sweet, or sour, but generally both. Texture-wise they are generally softer than other salad ingredients, so they’re a great addition when using lots of chewy or crunchy ingredients.
- Cucumbers– add crunch, wateriness, and sometimes a drop of bitterness.
- Peppers– Green peppers add bitterness and sourness and crunch to a salad; red, orange, and yellow peppers add a sweet and sour taste, together with a bit of crunch.
- Cabbage: crunchy, somewhat watery, somewhat sweet.
- Carrots: sweet, crunchy. (Cut small cubes, grate, thinly slice, or cook to soften, because otherwise too much makes the salad too hard to chew.)
- Eggplant- sour, spicy, soft/wet, or crispy, depending on how it’s cooked (slices thinly or cube, then bake, saute, grill, or fry).
- Mushrooms– watery, crunchy if raw, smooth if cooked, possibly salty depending on how its prepared (raw, sauted, or cooked).
- Corn Kernels– watery, sweet, soft, creamy (cooked, canned, or frozen).
- Onions– if raw, spicy and crunchy, possibly sweet. If cooked, soft or crunchy, sweet. (Raw, sauted, or deep fried to a crisp.)
- Celery– Crunchy, watery, somewhat bitter. Leaves can be used, but they’re even more bitter.
- Summer squash (yellow, crookneck, or zucchini)– crunchy, watery, sweet, a drop creamy (raw, grilled, or dry fried).
- Spinach/kale/swiss chard– leafy, slightly bitter.
- Beets– sweet, crunchy if raw (grate or cut thin slices if using raw and use sparingly, otherwise it’ll make the salad hard to chew)
- Fennel- watery, crunchy, sweet.
- Peas- if using frozen or fresh, sweet. If using canned, salty. If using raw, crunchy, if using cooked, smooth/creamy.
- Legume sprouts- crunchy, watery, can be slightly bitter. (Mung bean, lentil sprouts, chickpea sprouts.)
- Winter squash/sweet potatoes– creamy/smooth, sweet. (Use peeled and cooked- some do use this raw, but I don’t have much experience with it.)
- Olives– salty, sour, bitter, soft, slightly creamy.
- Capers– salty, sour, bitter, soft.
- Radish slices– spicy, crunchy, watery
- Baby corn– crunchy, sweet, a little salty.
- Avocado– soft, creamy, a little bitter.
- Hearts of palm– soft and creamy, sometimes crunchy, a little sweet, a little sour, watery
- Pickles– sour, salty, sometimes sweet, sometimes crunchy, sometimes spicy.
- Nuts and seeds- crunchy, sometimes salty, sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet- if candied. (Almonds-whole or slivered, raw or toasted, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, etc…)
- Craisins– sweet, sour, and chewy.
- Raisins– sweet and chewy.
- Apples– crunchy, sweet, possibly sour.
- Pears– sweet, either smooth/creamy and soft, or crunchy.
- Oranges– sweet and sour, wet, soft (mandarin oranges are my favorite addition).
- Mangoes– sweet, soft, smooth/creamy, wet
- Pomegranate seeds– sweet, sour, crunchy, wet
- Strawberries– sweet, sometimes sour, wet, soft
- Peaches– sweet, soft, creamy and wet if canned and sometimes fresh, possibly crunchy fresh
- Apricots– sweet and sour, soft and creamy, wet.
- Figs– sweet, soft, creamy, wet (when fresh).
- Grapes– sweet, possibly sour, soft, wet.
- Milk thistle– watery, crunchy ribs, a little bitter, leafy.
- Purslane– watery, crunchy, slightly salty, lemony.
- Nopales/cactus paddles– wet, lemony, slightly salty.
- Yucca blossoms– wet, slightly bitter, creamy (use only after boiling in salted water for 5 minutes).
- Redbud blossoms- sweet, sour, watery.
- Wood sorrel– sour, leafy.
- Wild mustard– spicy, leafy, slightly bitter. (Use only non hairy varieties.)
- Pine nuts– creamy, crunchy, slightly sweet.
- Dock– sour, leafy.
- Grape leaves– sour, leafy.
- Dandelion leaves- somewhat bitter, leafy.
- Chicory leaves– very bitter, leafy. (Use very sparingly.)
- Sow thistle– somewhat bitter, leafy, wet, crunchy stems.
- Wild lettuce- extremely bitter, leafy. (Use very, very sparingly.)
- Chickweed- leafy, watery.
- Chicken– chewy, can add other flavors, depending on how it is cooked (use grilled, baked, or sauted).
- Tuna fish- dry, needs a creamy addition like avocado or mayo or similar.
- Eggs– creamy, dry (hard boiled, and chopped, sliced, or grated).
- Beef– chewy, can add other flavors, depending on how it’s cooked (make sure to cook until fully soft).
- Beans– creamy/smooth, can be sweet or salty.
- Cheese– creamy, can be salty or spicy.
- Potatoes– smooth, creamy. (Boiled, baked, or fried.)
- Noodles- smooth, creamy.
- Quinoa– somewhat smooth, somewhat crunchy. Slightly bitter.
- Oil– creamy, generally not powerfully flavored other than olive oil which is bitter, sesame oil which is somewhat bitter.
- Tahini paste– creamy, somewhat bitter.
- Peanut butter– creamy, can be sweet or salty, depending on the brand.
- Lemon juice– sour, wet.
- Lime juice– sour, wet.
- Vinegar– sour, wet. Different types like balsamic and kombucha vinegar can be sweet.
- Mayonnaise– creamy, slightly sour, slightly salty.
- Mustard– creamy, spicy, a little bitter.
- Soy sauce– salty, slightly sour, slightly bitter, wet.
- Ketchup– sweet, sour, wet, creamy.
- Passion fruit– sweet, sour, wet, crunchy.
- Salt– salty. (Duh.)
- Honey– creamy, sweet, a little spicy.
- Sugar– sweet.
- Maple syrup– sweet, wet.
- Scallions– spicy, chewy.
- Garlic– spicy, fresh is spicier.
- Pepper– spicy, slightly bitter. Pink peppercorns are slightly sweet. Freshly ground is spicier.
- Cilantro– somewhat bitter.
- Parsley– somewhat bitter.
- Tortilla chips– crunchy, salty.
- Sesame seeds– crunchy, slightly bitter.
- Croutons- crunchy, salty.
- Soup nuts– crunchy, salty.
- Flatbreads– crunchy, salty.
- Ramen noodles– generally crunchy, soft after soaking.
A point to keep in mind- remember that the key to a perfect salad is balance. When using bitter ingredients, the more bitter you have, the more sweet and/or sour you need to balance it out. A salad with lots of bitter greens pretty much needs a sweet dressing, or something very sweet in the salad ingredients itself, like a fig. Sweet and sour balance out bitter. If using less bitter, you can get away with less sweet and less sour if desired. And on the other extreme, if you’re making a salad pretty sweet, you need to add more sour or bitter to balance it out. If you add too much of a strong flavor without balancing it out, the salad will either taste “so-so” or bad. So go easy on the strong flavors unless you are providing something with which to balance and mellow it out.
Just to give you confidence- when following this technique, I’ve never, ever made a salad that wasn’t a hit. The only times I’ve ever flopped a salad was when I didn’t balance it properly, like I included too many bitter greens, or when I went overboard with lemon and ended up with something too sour. But if you only add a little bit at a time, tasting as you go, it’s sure to work out.
Tomatoes, chickpea, red peppers, green olives, olive oil, salt, cilantro, garlic, and lemon juice.
