TASTE
Redefine salad
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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It's the time of year when salads move to the center of the plate as we try to shed holiday pounds.
But beware the salad sins: Sameness, undernutrition and overdressing.
Dishes that are predictable and uninteresting can leave you emotionally and psychologically hungry standing at the open refrigerator door an hour later. Leafy greens alone — most of them 90 percent water — are quickly digested and don't promote a lasting feeling of fullness the way proteins do. And if a salad is slathered with dressing or loaded down with croutons, cheese and other high-fat ingredients, you might be better off with a turkey sandwich.
To redefine and refine your salad-making skills, try these techniques.
1. Borrow ideas from other places. Around the world, salads and vegetables are dressed with low-fat, oil-free mixtures.
(In general, you can cut oils in vinaigrette by half without too much ill effect. Or try drizzling just a few drops of oil directly on the greens and tossing to coat; add other ingredients, toss, then splash on the acidic ingredients at the last minute.)
2. Slaw something other than cabbage.
The term cole slaw, from the Dutch koolsla ("cool cabbage"), decrees that the main ingredient of this salad standard be cabbage. But many firm-textured vegetables can be slivered, shaved, grated or thinly sliced and dressed with a coleslaw-style mayovinegar mixture or vinaigrette.
Combine these half-and-half with cabbage, or pair whatever seems interesting: celery, fennel, kohlrabi, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, hearts of palm, jicama, carrot — even apples or Asian pears.
3. Be fruitful and multiply.
Fruit — fresh, roasted, grilled or dried — lends flavor, texture and a pleasing sweetness to salads. Fruit also has a similar nutritional profile to vegetables and is often more enticing to children.
Think about the properties of common salad ingredients and trade out fruit for some of these. For instance, substitute fresh strawberries for tomatoes — both are acidic and add color. Try something in a salad that you might do in an appetizer or dessert. For example, dried figs contrast delightfully with the complex flavors of blue cheese; add chunks of Roquefort and slivers of fig to greens, or use blue cheese dressing on greens. Janie Hibler's "The Berry Bible" (William Morrow, 2004) recommends fresh blueberries in salads, for their tart-sweet flavor and nutrients.
Apple juice is a particularly useful ingredient; author and former Oprah chef Rosie Daley uses it instead of oil in dressings. Healthful pomegranate juice can substitute for wine or wine vinegar in vinaigrettes.
Nuts aren't fruits, but the two often go together. A tablespoon or two of nuts — especially dry-roasted, freshly toasted nuts — can give a salad new flavor and texture while adding fiber. And even if though they contain fat, it is a more healthful type of oil.
4. Recycle leftover salads.
Salads can have a shelf life if you plan ahead. Prepare ingredients one at a time (wash and spin lettuce and store, wrapped in paper towels, in open zip-closure bag; marinate crisp ingredients in dressing; keep nuts or other crisp garnish separate). Combine only what's needed; next time, add additional ingredients to change the effect.
A drizzle of lemon juice helps brighten flavors of "tired" ingredients. A brief soak in ice water can perk up herbs and greens.
Add chopped fresh or lightly steamed vegetables and beans or legumes to potato or macaroni salad to eke it out and add nutritional value.
5. Go for the grains (beans, legumes).
Grains, beans and legumes bulk up salads, making them into entrees with fiber, protein and a "comfort food" feel. But go beyond the usual kidney beans, tofu or garbanzos.
Drop by the health-food store or a specialty food store. The wheat family, for example, includes kamut, spelt, cracked wheat, farro, wheat berries, bulgar and couscous, all of which are prepared by boiling or steaming, just like rice. Also interesting: amaranth, quinoa, hominy, millet, barley, triticale and rye. All have a different nutty flavor; some are creamy textured, some crunchy.
Other ideas: French lentils hold their shape better than American brown lentils. Try exotic varieties of whole-grain rice available in Asian specialty stores: Bhutanese, Himalayan or Thai red rice; Chinese, Japanese or Thai black rice.
Combine kidney, black, and white beans, then mix in chopped tomatoes and scallions. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper.
6. Make the familiar strange.
Think about such classics as chop salad, caesar salad and Southeast Asian green papaya salad. Then think about what ingredients could be substituted to give the preparation new interest. For example, make a Chinese chicken salad with char siu or roast duck. (Hint: Don't change too much at once — switch out the protein or other major component but leave the rest much the same.)
Salad dressings, too, can surprise. Beat creamed ripe avocado into your favorite vinaigrette. Mash sweet potatoes and whisk in a dressing of walnut oil and apple cider vinegar. In her "Complete Vegetarian Kitchen" (William Morrow, 1992) Lorna Sass tosses cooked vegetables in a creamy white bean dressing (mashed white beans, garlic, olive oil, mustard, wine vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs). Switch from olive oil to nut oils, sugar to honey or maple syrup, vinegar to fresh citrus juices.
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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