My wife & I enjoy making/eating different Salads with our meals. Well, my wife, the making-part. Me, the eating-part. But, want to find some new Salads (that others may enjoy).

I was wondering if people can post some of their favorite Salads to make @ home (with the Recipes).

Thank You.

LCC - You've probably seen me post on this salad a few times. It's simple even for large crowds and elegant. Very tasty and plays nice with almost any menu.

It was called Salad Petite at the restaurant I swiped the recipe from.

Bibb or Boston Lettuce, torn in bite-sized pieces
Granny Smith Apples, cored and julienned
Pecan or Walnut pieces
Roquefort, or any bleu cheese, crumbled
Toss with a nice balsamic vinaigrette
I've served it with fresh nectarine pieces, raspberries or blackberries as a garnish - yummmmy
Serve with crusty French bread (or Italian, if you're boycotting)

If you're serving a large crowd, I just put the fixings in separate bowls on the buffet and let people build their own. That's where I got the raspberry idea - someone mixed some ingredients with something I had set out for dessert.

My favorite salad is any variation of the Asian chicken salad. Usually some grilled chicken, tangerines, almonds, chow mein noodles, and peanut based dressing.

And, obviously, lettuce.

I love potato salads.
My fav is as follows.

Lightly cook the potatoes (al Dente) so although warm still firm. Use baby potatoes, toss with basil pesto ,olive oil and parmesan, serve with roquet leaf. Toss the lot until all is covered lightly in Basil pesto( you have to make this yourself, other wise it just ain't the same.)

A good meat salad that I enjoy.

Get eye fillet ( I think you lot call these Fillet Mignon) slice into thin medallions, marinate in sweet chilli and honey. Sear so it is still raw in the middle serve with almonds, crispy udon noodles and spinach leaf with a light olive and soy dressing.

I love them.

For those of you who don't speak Kiwi, Aussie, or Brit, "roquet", a.k.a. rocket, a.k.a arugula.

Thanks Lilac,
I always knew I needed a translater.

Jeremy - if you really want to confuse an American, use "daks" and "sepo" in the same sentence. They'll never know what you're talking about.

A good summer salad for a BBQ is "Three Pepper Salad." I got the recipe from my aunt several years ago.

Ingredients

Red, orange, and yellow bell peppers
Red onion
Feta cheese
Black olives (or kalamata olives)
Oregano
Salt and pepper
Balsamic vinagrette dressing

Directions:

Pretty straight-forward recipe here. Cut up the peppers into long, quarter-inch thick slices and toss into a bowl. Slice the red onion as desired (I prefer to slice them very, very thin) and dump in bowl with peppers. Crumble feta over top, add olives, oregano and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper, then add your homemade balsamic vinagrette dressing and toss again.

The secret here is to make this ahead of time, stick it in the fridge, and allow all the flavours to blend together. It's a wonderful salad that looks really pretty. Be forewarned - it won't last long!

This is our "GO TO" salad for entertaining in the summer. Grilled scallops wrapped in pancetta over baby spinach with citrus dressing.

Dressing is simple. Combine 1/4 cup orange juice, a little rice wine (Kirin), 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar and 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

Wrap pancetta around scallops. Season w/ kosher salt and pepper. Grill 2 minutes per side over medium high heat.

Plate with thoroughly washed and dried baby spinach leaves, dress the leaves lightly with the dressing, sprinkle lightly w/kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Place scallops over the spinach. Garnish w/ mandarin orange slices.

jb

j_b reminded me of another salad that I love making. It's called the Blue Ridge Salad by the other restaurant I swiped this from (Lightfoot in Leesburg, VA).

Baby Spinach
Virginia Ham, diced
Dried Cherries
Bleu Cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette of choice

It's really yummy. The tender greens with the salty ham and sweet cherries, off-set by the cheese. Really good.

I'm getting hungry.

Warm Pear Salad

Rather than copy the original, I will just send you to the source:

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1710&search=true&resultNo=1

A couple of notes
1. The cheese choice is up to you - I prefer Roquefort as it is less 'aromatic' and tends to have greater mass appeal.
2. One could easily substitute mixed European greens for the watercress & endive. We've made it both ways and enjoy it either way.

Lilac,

Your "salad Petite" is almost identical to my Waldorf Salad. It is a definite favorite of mine!

TCK

Here's a different one:

Nam Tok (Thai grilled beef salad)

8oz thinly sliced beef (no thicker than 1/4"). I use flank but lean sirloin would work well too.
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
1.5 tbs roasted rice powder (get it at a Thai grocery, lots here in DC)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/3 cup sliced red onions (1.5-2" strips)
1/2 tsp dried Thai chili powder
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
handful nice greens

Season beef lightly with salt and pepper on one side. Sear on hot grill or in saute pan until just cooked through, about 20 seconds or so per side). Slice into 1/4" strips.

Whisk lime juice, fish sauce and rice powder together in a small bowl. Add red onions, scallions and chili powder. Its supposed to be spicy, but add heat to your taste. Add sliced beef and let marinate for 5 minutes. Immediately, before plating, mix in half of the cilantro.

Plate greens, place beef on top of greens. Garnish with cilantro and serve with a lime wedge on the side.

Bump: it's been a while & always looking for fresh & interesting Salad ideas. Thanks.

Hazelnuts, bleu cheese, apples or pears, possibly bacon, and mesclun mix.

Use frisee only if you want it warm.

I like to take medallions of goat cheese and coat in in either herbed bread crumbs , or even better, panko crumbs with herbs mixed in. Heat up the saute pan with some olive oil and saute the goat cheese until is just starts to melt.
Take field greens and vinaigrette (like olive oil and lemon juice, more herbts, balck pepper). Mix it up and add the goat cheese medallions on top.

Mesclun, coarsely chopped pistachios, dress lightly with sesame vinaigrette.

I've got a million of 'em. One I am absolutely dying to try if I ever have the time and patience to cook the lamb:

Warm Shredded Lamb Salad with Mint and Pomegranate
1 shoulder of lamb (approx. 5 1/2 lbs.)
4 shallots, halved but not peeled
6 cloves garlic
1 carrot, peeled and halved
Maldon or other sea salt
2 1/4 cups boiling water
small handful freshly chopped mint
1 pomegranate

Preheat oven to 250F.
On the stovetop, brown lamb, fat side down, in a large roasting pan. Set aside and put the vegetables into the pan with the lamb fat, sprinkle with salt, and cook four a couple of minutes. Pour the water over them and replace the lamb, this time fat side up. Bring to a boil, then cover with foil and put in the oven. Cook overnight. (Or, heat oven to 325F and cook 5 hours.)
Remove the lamb to a large plate and let sit an hour or so or until it's warm, not hot. Discard the shallots, garlic, and carrot, their purpose was just to flavor the meat. Shred the meat with a couple of forks. Sprinkle with sea salt and the mint. Cut the pomegranate in half and hold it, seed side down, over the plate. Whack the skin side with a wooden spoon to get the seeds out. Take the other half and squeeze the juice over the salad. Toss and serve.

Serves 6-8. Leftovers can be heated and served in a warm pita.

I wish there was a way for me to make the little degree symbol thingie.

Mizuna (a member of the arugula family)
champagne vinaigrette
shaved fennel
segmented citrus (oranges, grapefruit, etc)

good salad. very easy.