Comments on: What else should I put on my salad?

Question: What else should I put on my salad?

Aghast. — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:12:57 -0800

What else should I put on my salad? These days, I've often been making a salad that consists of mesclun greens, ripped up red plums, and chunks of fresh mozzarella. It's very delicious but I'd like to add some ingredients. What would go good on top of this/amongst this? My imagination is failing me.

By: fluffy battle kitten

fluffy battle kitten — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:15:00 -0800

Red onions and cucumbers. Walnuts or pecans. And possibly some fresh mint.

By: alexmikayla

alexmikayla — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:15:11 -0800

Pecans, grape tomatoes, sunflower seeds, craisins...

By: k8t

k8t — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:18:15 -0800

Red onions -- they aren't too strong, but add a lil' sumfin.

Pine nuts

By: milarepa

milarepa — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:18:51 -0800

Any of the following might be good depending on your taste:

some red onions
a few small bits and/or seeds of fresh jalepeño peppers
a sliced hard-boiled egg
a little cucumber
some cooked asparagus
some dill or parsley
fresh baby spinach

By: rob511

rob511 — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:21:43 -0800

add some crunch: jicama, water chestnut, hearts of romaine ...

By: jamaro

jamaro — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:25:41 -0800

walnuts, dried cranberries, raw spaghetti squash

By: biscotti

biscotti — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:28:19 -0800

Fresh croutons that you make yourself (or buy). Cut bread into big chunks, toss in olive oil and spices and bake until golden. Croutons fresh and warm from the oven on a salad are INSANELY good. Or tortilla strips.

I put tuna salad or chicken on my salad. I also make a "bacon and egg" salad with hard boiled eggs and warm bacon.

Shredded cheese?

By: Dipsomaniac

Dipsomaniac — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:28:55 -0800

Sweet onion, dry roasted sesame seeds (to golden brown, in a frypan. You don't need oil) and a thai salad dressing. Perhaps mango, too.

Roasted cashews or walnut pieces might be nice, too.

By: iurodivii

iurodivii — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:28:55 -0800

any freshly picked herbs (basil, oregano, mint, parsley, cilantro, etc.)

By: croutonsupafreak

croutonsupafreak — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:29:19 -0800

mmmm, croutons.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:29:28 -0800

Head to a co-op or a grocery store with bulk bins and look for the pumpkin seeds. Buy them unroasted and unsalted. Take home a bag, toast the seeds in a pan. No oil or anything needed, just scatter them in a pan, no more than one layer deep, on low to medium heat. Warm them up until they start getting a little brown and toasty--a few seeds will pop a little like popcorn. Takes five minutes or less.

They're marvelous, fresh and delicious, and your kitchen will have this warm, pleasant toasty smell as well.

Your only problem will be not eating them all right away before they get in the salad.

By: MonkeySaltedNuts

MonkeySaltedNuts — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:33:09 -0800

plain yoghurt, smoked oysters cut in pieces, black olives,

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:36:25 -0800

Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Tomatoes

good for you and taste great

When my salad is my meal I like garbanzo beans and toasted tofu. Anytime I like apple slices, pear slices (these go really well in salads), nuts, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries. A slice of goat cheese slightly toasted in a toaster oven or preferably with a torch is really wonderful on top of buttery greens like Arugala (the ultimate salad green in my book) or Boston lettuce.

Last time I was in Orange County I had an interesting salad made with a baby Romain, sliced down the middle and grilled. It was very good, and I am not a big Romain fan.

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:41:01 -0800

another vote for pine nuts

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:42:05 -0800

These are all very good suggestions that have basically said everything I possibly could have, so I'll chime in with one thing that you should never put on a salad like this, at the risk of extreme and lasting nausea: tuna. The combination of mozzarella's watery consistency, the floppy greens (not meant disparagingly, it's only an issue in this context) and the tuna's fishy pungency made me want to die.

No, I don't know what I was thinking either.

By: LeisureGuy

LeisureGuy — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:44:17 -0800

Take a look through this list of ingredients. In this case, I'm making a bean salad, but a lot of the ingredients can be used in other salad.

By: teststrip

teststrip — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:52:07 -0800

Not necessarily right with the things you've listed (plum etc) but I recommend dried apricots, they're surprisingly good and chewy in a salad. Oh and toasted pine nuts if you're feeling fancy, yum! I have to stop myself eating all them out of the pan and never getting into the salad...

By: seymour.skinner

seymour.skinner — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:05:30 -0800

Garbanzos.

By: Iron Rat

Iron Rat — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:10:27 -0800

All my favorites have been suggested, so-crumble up some dry ramen noodles. Don't use to much, and maybe bake or dry fry them before putting on the salad.

By: Sallyfur

Sallyfur — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:16:39 -0800

Toss some pecan rubble in a bowl with a dash of Frank's Red Hot and a little dribble of olive oil, and then sprinkle them with a little basil. You can either proceed to toast them, or just chuck them in the salad.

SO GOOD.

By: necessitas

necessitas — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:24:47 -0800

pumpkin seeds

By: junesix

junesix — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:49:53 -0800

If you have a grill, you can grill plum halves and have them with the same salad and it'd be a completely different taste. Change it up by glazing with a bit of balsamic vinegar or brown sugar and it tastes different again.

Mix and match with the above suggestions, especially with different types of nuts and cheeses. Nuts, fruit, and cheese are always a great combo in salad.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:59:57 -0800

Green beans, preferably the haricot vert kind (thin ones.) Microwave 2 or 3 mins with a splash of water, cool, break or chop into small pieces, add to the salad.

By: lois1950

lois1950 — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:21:13 -0800

all of the above with Annie's Goddess Dressing... the best!

By: Skychief

Skychief — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:26:53 -0800

Arugala.

By: DoctorFedora

DoctorFedora — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:55:19 -0800

Track down an Asian grocer and buy some menma. It's basically pickled bamboo shoots that are most frequently served either in ramen or as a side to rice, but it's really good stuff and I rather imagine you'd find it worth a shot. You can generally find it with the other pickled items in either a packet or a small jar.

By: porpoise

porpoise — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:01:47 -0800

A *light* dusting of cummin. *light*

Depends on your tastebuds - but a *little* *tiny* *bit* is nice.

Tumeric, too, - with it's curcurmin content (and interesting taste) - can also be a flavour-adder to salads.

By: Aghast.

Aghast. — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:15:10 -0800

So much good advice here. Nuts and seeds -- adding some crunch is right on the money. You guys are good at this.

invitapriore: About the tuna that was mentioned before, I am a huge tuna fan and have wanted it to work in salads, but you are right, it is very troublesome and unappetizing and soggy sometimes.

By: phearlez

phearlez — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:28:20 -0800

Personally I have never met a banana pepper I didn't like. I find them less jarring in a salad than jalapeno.

By: abcde

abcde — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:34:25 -0800

I'll confirm that Annie's Goddess Dressing is a truly magnificent creation.

By: The Jesse Helms

The Jesse Helms — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:15:55 -0800

I enjoy cheese-stuffed olives on my salads (feta, gorgonzola.) Pretty good in martinis also (Roquefort.).

By: mek

mek — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:31:22 -0800

If you want to get tuna into a salad, the trick is to use it raw or seared. Ahi is spectacular, of course, but any good tuna will do just as well.

Season the tuna as you like (a ton of cracked pepper works very well, blackening spices also superb), sear VERY lightly in a pan, let it rest, and then slice with a sharp knife. Add:

simple vinagrette (balsamic, wine, citrus juice... lots of room for imagination here)

your choice of greens - preferably nothing with high water content like romaine

crisp, sweet vegetables such as red/yellow/orange peppers

and ta-da! you have a salad to die for.

By: junesix

junesix — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:36:57 -0800

Another option:
- Marinate a few balls of fresh mozzarella a day or two in advance in herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, chives, garlic, oregano - pick two), red pepper flakes, and/or finely diced pickled peppers. Use chunks as before.

By: TheDonF

TheDonF — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 00:36:01 -0800

Home-made spicy potato wedges, roasted peppers, roasted butternut squash, thinly sliced raw courgette/zuccini, fresh herbs (mint+basil work well together), a light sprinkling of toasted sesame/chili/basil oil. I take a salad to work every day and throw in some frozen peas into it; by lunch time they're defrosted and yummy.

By: michswiss

michswiss — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:23:50 -0800

Sweat off the red onions with a little olive oil. They should be slightly crunchy but sweeter. Toast sunflower seeds and/or pine nuts in a dry pan. Add to almost anything :)

By: mek

mek — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:57:37 -0800

Oh, now I feel truly silly for forgetting that king of tuna salads - no wait, make that salads with tuna - salade niçoise. Also try this recipe from Too Many Chefs.

By: mek

mek — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:58:40 -0800

Sorry, this is the direct link for the above recipe.

By: FergieBelle

FergieBelle — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 05:53:50 -0800

Wasabi peas--those spicy dried peas. Crunchy and spicy, good with creamy dressings and cheese.
Avocados.
Olives.
Feta cheese.
Blanched and chilled fresh green beans, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli... let them sit in a vinagerette for a while and then add to your salad greens.

By: KrustyKlingon

KrustyKlingon — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 07:39:07 -0800

Pepitas. I roast them a little in a dry skillet. Dried cherries or some other not too sweet dried fruit is good too.

By: phatkitten

phatkitten — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 09:45:50 -0800

Sliced almonds and Craisins are my two favorite things to add to salads (they go very well with my old standby, a spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette).

By: kar120c

kar120c — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 10:07:28 -0800

That salad sounds good as is. To make it more substantial, try adding some cannellini beans. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar and some really good olive oil would finish it off nicely.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 10:50:56 -0800

I would second the advice to grill them above, but modify it— You cut them up into dime/nickel sized chunks, grill 'em, then roll them in crumbled gorganzola and walnuts. Leave out the mozzerella.

By: Aghast.

Aghast. — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:26:02 -0800

I just tried the roasted pepitas (recommended by KrustyKlingon) on the plum/mozz salad and they were a great addition that I never ever would have thought of.