I love salads. I don’t eat them enough or order them when I’m out but I promise that I like them. Earlier this month, I had the most delicious salad at Public House that immediately piqued my interested and faith back in salads. It was a very simple house salad and I added their fried chicken tenders – I know, not very healthy. The herb vinaigrette was fantastic and the portion of the salad was definitely filling. I find that a lot of times people shy away from eating salads as their meal for lunch or dinner simply because they believe they will be hungry again in an hour. Sure, that’s sometimes the case for me (ha!) but I believe that with just enough leafy greens and a flavorful vinaigrette, you’ll be just fine.
This salad prompted me to make my own salad at home so I thought I would share just a few tips on how to make your own delicious and filling salad. I’m not expert on salads but this helps me when I’m building one.
I believe that the basis for a good salad starts with the greenery. Iceberg lettuce is fine if that’s what you like – it does have some nutritional value. For me, I like to use a decent blend of herbs and leafy greens. For this salad there was a mixture of baby spinach, arugula, radicchio and chard. Occasionally, I love to add basil to my salads; it elevates them just a bit more.
Add-ins: Deciding what additional elements to add in your salad is a personal decision, based on what you like but there are a few key ingredients that I always enjoy in a salad. Fruits like apples or pears always add a bit of crunch to an otherwise basic salad. For the salad shown in this blog post, I decided to go with Bosc pears. They’re flavorful and super crisp. Other optional add-ins:
- orange segments
- dried cranberries (I went with dried pomegranates this time around)
- pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- cucumbers
- shredded carrots
- gorgonzola or any other type of crumbly & creamy cheese
Last but not least, the vinaigrette. How you dress a salad can either ruin it or make the salad taste even better. Gone are the days where I purchase some expensive, fatty salad dressing (though some of them I like – sue me). I always make my own vinaigrette at home. Sometimes, people hear vinaigrette and immediately think that it’s something super fancy or difficult to make – it’s not! Making a homemade vinaigrette is easy. For this salad I made a very easy lemon balsamic vinaigrette and I love it! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
black pepper
1/2 cup of olive oil
Whisk first 5 ingredients well; gradually add in the olive oil. Taste to make sure it is seasoned to your liking.
How do you dress up your salads?
