There are two kinds of salads here. After dinner have a simple salad. Some lettuce – Boston bib, red leaf, green leaf, romaine, whatever is available fresh – with a dressing like the creamy vinaigrette.
The other kind of salad is the full-meal salad. Some full-meal salads are like the Julia Child classic Salade Niçoise. These are complex salads meant for special occasions or when entertaining friends. These full-meal salads are simple to make and can be quickly prepared. A true meal in 10 minutes.
How to prepare vegetables
Following is a listing of salad ingredients, with suggested ways to prepare the them for the salad. All cutting, dicing, grating, etc., should be done just before serving the salad, if possible.
Each item includes a suggest quantity for one serving. You can make your own salad by combining four or more of these ingredients and adding a dressing. Top any salad with the crumbled yolk of a hard boiled egg.
Lettuce or Leafy Greens Chop with a knife, as finely as possible. Use 2 to 4 leaves per serving.
Carrots, radishes, or other hard vegetables Shred with a box grater. About a quarter cup per item per serving.
Celery, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower Slice thinly with a knife. For asparagus or broccoli in a salad, use only the flowering tips.
Watercress Use stalks with whole leaves. About 4 to 6 per serving.
Avocado Peel and slice into eighths. Half an avocado per serving.
Whole-meal salads are easy to prepare and can be completely satisfying. These are some suggestions for salads, use them or create your own combinations. There is no requirement, except that it be satisfying. You’ll want a dressing on it; olive oil and wine vinegar is always good or use one of the dressings found here in the Basics section.
Whole-meal salad recipes:
Whole-meal salad #1
Whole-meal salad #2
Whole-meal salad #3
Whole-meal salad #4
Whole-meal salad #5
Whole-meal salad #6
Whole-meal salad #7
The 10 minute meal 