Have you seen the salad dressing?!

July 17, 2022 6:44 AM

Please give me your favourite salad recipes. I’m after ones that can be a full meal in itself so will likely include a meat or protein of some sort. I’m not a fan of lentils but anything else goes! If it’s a great restaurant copycat, a takeaway Buddha bowl or just something you created yourself and you love it, I want to know all about it. The more recipes the better. Extra points if it’s keto but not mandatory.
posted by Jubey to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

This is a side, but it's so good I'm posting anyway -- Garlicky Grilled Kale Salad with Grilled Bread.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 7:01 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]

So easy to make some delicious roasted chickpeas for salads, whether you make them from dry beans in Instant Pot, or from a can:
Drain chickpeas and toss in a bowl with soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger, turmeric and curry powder (this is my number one go-to mix, but any spices you prefer will work!)
Spread mostly in a single layer on a sheet of parchment paper on baking sheet, cook about 25 minutes at 400, stir them up a bit, continue cooking until desired crunchiness. Then pop in sealed container of some kind and use for salads or snacking.

Tons of greens and maybe some steamed veg (broccoli and cauliflower in particular I enjoy more lightly steamed than raw), some sliced red onions or green onions, cucumbers, red cabbage, grape tomatoes. Add a grain for more heartiness - maybe some brown rice or quinoa. (Frozen, cooked rice from Trader Joe's or other grocery store is so convenient!) Sometimes I add tofu (pre-cooked teriyaki or siracha kind, also Trader Joe's but most stores have something similar, is handy for this).

For a very easy salad dressing - and I was hesitant about this at first because it doesn't sound like it would work? - but add water to your favorite hummus to thin it down and that makes a delicious salad dressing.

Whole food carbs are excellent and exactly the energy your body craves. Simple carbs are the bad ones (overly processed food, white sugar, white flour). Keto is hard on your body, especially your kidneys, and causes constipation and bad breath, and other things.
posted by Glinn at 7:04 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]

Emily Nunn's Department of Salad substack should have you covered.

(Subscription, but some recipes are free)
posted by marguerite at 7:19 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]

I love making a version of the chopped BBQ chicken salad from California Pizza Kitchen. Chopped greens (your choice, I like romaine), grilled chicken, avocado, black beans, cheese of choice (I like feta), jicama, cilantro, sometimes toasted walnuts or tortilla strips depending. Chop it all up into bite size pieces and mix. Squeeze of lime, dress with homemade ranch (very adaptable—can go miso, southwest, basil etc) and drizzle of bbq sauce.

Make sure the chicken is pretty cool before mixing the chopped elements together or you might have a wilty salad, very sad.

Also, the menus for Chopt or Sweetgreen may provide some inspiration.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 7:24 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

I like throwing some sliced pepperoni and red onions into a salad for flavor. A little shredded cheese and sunflower seeds for protein. Olives, cucumbers, and sprouts for texture. What really jazzes up a salad for me is a light sprinkle of seasoning salt or Tony Chachere's. Doesn't take much, but a little seasoning salt makes all the other flavors pop.
posted by xedrik at 7:26 AM on July 17, 2022

"If you like Caesar salad, like real Caesar salad with plenty of anchovies and garlic, then this is the salad for you!"
Bar Tartine Chicory Salad

This recipe is so amazing. I'm sure you can add some chicken to make it more substantial.
posted by skunk pig at 7:38 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Try making salad dressing without vinegar - just 2 crushed garlic cloves, salt, and oil. It’s delicious.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:45 AM on July 17, 2022

Best answer: To tack away slightly from Western foods, certain styles of Thai salads contain protein and in fact (depending on how you compose them) are pretty protein-centric -- I would look at the grilled steak salad, fried egg salad, laab, spicy omelette salad, salmon, roast park salad, etc.

It is true that they are not typically designed to be completely one-pot dishes as they -- like the large majority of Thai dishes -- are designed and seasoned to be eaten with rice.

But there's no reason you couldn't either just omit the rice (in which case I would cut down on the fish sauce slightly, as the level of saltiness is calibrated to pair with plain jasmine rice) or just mix in a grain (though in this case I'd probably go with something like quinoa or farro, which obviously is totally not Thai but I think would work, and of course it's your own kitchen!)
posted by andrewesque at 7:49 AM on July 17, 2022

This is a hot bean salad but doesn't use lentils. I roast baby tomatoes and shallots with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, add a drained can of white beans, cook for another 10, garnish with any fresh herbs. Sometimes I put it on toast but most of the time I just eat it plain. You can add cheese when serving if you want.
posted by twelve cent archie at 8:32 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]

Summer Salad

• Canned chickpeas
• Grape tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes or cut-up big tomatoes
• Chopped red onion
• Diced cucumber
• Chopped boiled eggs
• Crumbled feta cheese (a little goes a long way)
• A few sliced black olives
• Maybe a handful of cooked brown rice or pasta, or maybe not
• Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Mix everything together. Tastes better if you have time to let in sit in he fridge overnight. Can be served in a big leaf of iceberg lettuce if you like.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:37 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Don't be afraid of fruit! I love a roasted pear and fennel salad with quick pickled red onions, walnuts and goat cheese. Just roast the pear and fennel with some olive oil, s+p at 425 for 20 mins. While they roast, leave half a red onion soaking in apple cider vinegar. Then make a balsamic dressing, I like maple syrup, evoo and balsamic, and toss it all together. Delicious!

Watermelon and feta with tomatoes another treat.

I make a lot of salads at home for lunch. I just have "a lot of salad stuff" on hand. I used to hate making salad because i didn't know how to experiment. A few tips:

Don't be afraid to mix greens. Try chopping up escarole, raddichio, watercress, endive and mixing it with more traditional iceberg, romaine or arugala/rocket.

Chop/shred them greens. A salad with lettuce just tastes better and is easier to eat chopped, imho.

All salads need crunch! I love to add pepitas or toasted sunflower seeds, or crumbled wasa crackers. Particularly good if you're a crouton lover but don't want croutons for carby reasons.

Experiment with how you cut/slice veggies. I don't much like radishes but shredded very thin on the mandolin slicer, yum! Same with zucchini. Carrots are great if you shred them or just use a potato peeler and shave them over the salad.

Tomatoes and cucumber are my favorite but they are quite wet. Put them sliced up in a strainer with some salt for 10 mins before you put them in the salad and they'll be crispier.

Nuts are great protein and crunch! I keep hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios in the freezer. I toss a few in the oven or on the cast iron to toast while I make the rest of the salad.

Jars of pickled stuff add depth of flavor. In my pantry I keep roasted red peppers, banana peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, preserved lemon, daikon radishes, kimchi. I dream of pickling veggies myself but rarely have the time/patience. I look for interesting jars of stuff at the store. I prowl the aisles of specialty food shops for these jars for my experiments.

Tuna, sardines, feta, mozzarella, chickpeas, great northern beans, kidney beans, goat cheese, tofu are my favorite proteins to add. I usually do one fish, or beans AND cheese.

If you like to grill, try grilling some of your veggies for the salad. Grilled eggplant, cauliflower, tomatoes, tomatillos are amazing in salad.

For dressings, I usually put oil, vinegar or lemon and a skootch of sweet - agave, honey or maple syrup - s+p - and some Dijon into a jar and shake it vigorously. For Asian salads I use rice vinegar or mirin, sesame oil, miso. Tahini also great in salad dressings.

If you have fresh herbs, don't forget to sprinkle them on top! And for finishing, more crunch: I like dukkah or furikake or sesame seeds or nutritional yeast sprinkled over the salad before I toss and serve.

I have made myself hungry typing this.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:50 AM on July 17, 2022 [6 favorites]

I have been a salad making monster this past year or so.

this one is incredible, just gobbled some up last night. I modified the dressing a bit: 50-50% olive oil and balsamic with some dijon mustard and S&P.

if you are inclined to scoff at "Jennifer Aniston's favorite salad (I was), this stuff is sooo good. its essentially tabouleh on steroids.

one we made up at home: "Mexican" "Caesar" Salad

Romaine (or hardy leaf of your choice)
scoop of beans
scoop of pico de gallo or ingredients thereof
some cotija cheese
avocado

thats the basic, you could certainly jump off from here. radishes? corn? (not my thing in salad but maybe yours?) etc.,
it doesn't necessarily need a protein but I'm sure some chicken or shrimp would be great.

BUT there are two very important components that make this amazing.

the dressing: we like to make our Caesar dressing homemade. this is very easy if you have a stick blender. we go heavy on the garlic and anchovies YMMV. but then!!! we blend in some chipotles in adobo.

finally: crushed tortilla chips on top, in lieu of croutons.

enjoy!
posted by supermedusa at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2022 [7 favorites]

I’ve been known to slice a peach/nectarine or two, tear up some fresh mozzarella, arrange on a plate in a pleasing manner, season with a touch of salt and freshly ground pepper, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and call that lunch.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]

Essentially a wedge with butter lettuce instead of iceberg:
butter lettuce, bacon bits, bleu cheese crumbles and bleu cheese dressing
posted by soelo at 8:57 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Charlie Bird's Farro Salad (farro is high in protein!)

(BTW I usually cook the farro in water rather than apple cider because I find the cider to make it slightly too sweet)
posted by praemunire at 9:18 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Balela (use this one or Google for one you like better) started in our house as looking for a dupe for the Trader Joe's version.
But we usually make a big bowl and keep it in the fridge to pull out for dinner salads (and now lunch since the grownups are home all day) all week. It's great fresh and great, more pickled, several days later. And once it starts to get a bit too pickled, I like to drain it in a collander, and then throw it in a ripping hot pan of oil. Fry it up. And eat that!
posted by atomicstone at 9:46 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Tuna and white bean is my favorite substantial salad. I usually substitute a large shallot for the red onion, and do a drizzle of olive oil and flaky salt to finish. Great for leftovers, it's even better the next day!
posted by CheeseLouise at 10:02 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

chopped salad explained as an Italian sub in salad form. Big favorite at my house. I use the dressing recipe a lot as a dressing for quinoa or pasta salads also.
posted by Swisstine at 10:33 AM on July 17, 2022

Best answer: This Ginger-Miso Salad is one of my go-tos. The dressing is too good, and the other components are flexible. I typically use pickled red onion that I keep on hand instead of taking the time to caramelize onions. The best thing to add is fresh edamame from the produce section. Pile shredded rotisserie chicken on top.

A classic chef's salad won't leave you hungry. I do mine with romaine and/or other greens with some body and crunch, some herbs (basil, parsley), shredded carrot, thin slices of radish, julienned bell pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion (again!), hard-cooked eggs, and cubed ham (from a thick slice from the deli or one of those Neiman Ranch ham steaks). For the dressing, a traditional olive oil vinaigrette with white wine, sherry, or cider vinegar works well.

The amazing crispy shallots and dressing here would be good with so many combos. Maybe with sliced steak and blue cheese?

Spring greens and strawberries with pesto grilled chicken, feta or goat cheese, pecans (sweet and spicy if the carbs are worth it to you), Champagne vinaigrette.

A few more tips:
Greek salad: Add fresh oregano and plenty of garlic to a red-wine vinaigrette. Pickled pepperoncini for zing, and the best feta you can find. Grilled marinated chicken for protein, or canned chickpeas for speed and ease.

Taco salad: Avocado is not optional! Black beans are fine, but usually what I want is more ground beef with taco seasoning. Tastes like junk food but is actually pretty healthy. For the dressing, just whisk a little lime juice into sour cream, and use sparingly.

Nicoise salad: Best when you have real garden cherry tomatoes. Potatoes can be omitted, but just a couple of little ones give some balance to the big flavors. Oil-packed tuna in the little jars is very nice. The dressing should have plenty of Dijon and a little shallot. Greens are a bit player here and can be omitted entirely.

Cobb salad: In its most basic form, a Cobb is bacon, hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, avocado, and chicken. Greens should be the sturdy kind. Use the rendered bacon fat in the dressing for the most savory, satisfying salad ever. Baked breaded chicken tenders are a handy cheat (damn the carbs!).
posted by libraryhead at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]

In Greece years ago, Greek salad was a composed salad with no greens - Tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, Greek olives, topped with oil, bread on the side. occasionally, there would be some herbs and maybe a dash of vinegar. I still make this. The vegetables give up some juice to mix with the oil and sopping that up with the bread is delicious.

Romaine lettuce, arugula, grapefruit sections, sliced avocado, croutons. Poppyseed dressing, or wine vinegar and oil.

A restaurant called Magic Pan served a salad of spinach, quartered hardboiled eggs, (canned) mandarin oranges, croutons. The dressing was lemon juice, honey, garlic, olive oil.
posted by theora55 at 2:44 PM on July 17, 2022

At the very simple end of the spectrum: when we were students and had to eat at school for the last nights before the exam, one of my friends brought a jar of pasta sauce and a jar of chickpeas and mixed them together. It was surprisingly good. I'm calling it a salad because it was cold.

But OK, it seems you are looking for something more elegant.

Recently, I made a salad of romaine lettuce, baked mackerel and raspberries. I baked the mackerel "en papilotte", and meanwhile dressed the lettuce with a garlicky vinaigrette. I think I made the vinaigrette with a fruity vinegar, probably apple. But it would be good with a balsamico and then no garlic. Then when the mackerel was ready, I put it on top of the lettuce and then at last ripe, juicy raspberries. The fish could be sardines or herrings instead, and they could also be grilled or smoked.

The most recent version of salade nicoise I had at a restaurant was with just a tiny bit of frisee, a few small new potatoes, cherry tomatoes, a good handful of green beans, seared fresh tuna, anchovies, a runny egg and chervil. The dressing was a vinaigrette with plenty of dijon mustard. Not your regular nicoise, but very filling and delicious.

This sounds very simple, but try it: dress some steamed green asparagus in a vinaigrette with dijon mustard, add cherry tomatoes and a poached or soft-boiled egg for each serving

Side salads:

If you see some really beautiful white button mushrooms, they will be good raw, just dressed with salt, a hint of white pepper, lemon, olive oil and a good sprinkling of chopped parsley. Use your hands to mix, so you make sure all the mushrooms are properly dressed. This is a good side with grilled meat. Maybe you will want some steamed spinach too.

A summer salad could be made of lettuce (any type, the freshest and tastiest one you can find), diced cucumber, blueberries and raspberries or quartered strawberries. Dressed with a mix of whole cream, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, and optional dijon mustard. mix the dressing with the lettuce and diced cucumbers and then add the berries on top. This is very good with roast chicken or with white fish.
posted by mumimor at 3:42 PM on July 17, 2022

Whoop, I forgot there was supposed to be fresh green peas in that last salad, too.
posted by mumimor at 4:32 PM on July 17, 2022

Any variation on Caprese salad is like catnip to me, probably because the signature fresh basil is related to the catnip plant. Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, the fresher you can get them the better, are all you need. Anything else you feel like throwing in is icing on the cake. I like a few white navy beans in there, mixed green, and maybe just a few drops of balsamic vinegar so as not to dominate the basil.

I swear to God, I had a pre-packaged Caprese salad in a theme park once and it was just as good as anything I had made for myself at home; it’s that difficult to mess up. And I have yet to meet a bread it didn’t go well with, but bread’s not essential. I imagine it would also go well with any grilled meat, if that’s more your thing.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:42 PM on July 17, 2022