Super Salads!

Salads are the perfect solution for people who like to give free rein to their imagination when cooking. Who says only vegetables go with vegetables? Citrus fruit, strawberries, pears, star fruit, apples and grapes can add a touch of freshness and colour to tossed greens. Bored with ho-hum salads? Mix in bean sprouts, celeriac, avocado, endives, grated zucchini. For a complete meal, include eggs, cheese, nuts, chicken or another protein food in your salad.

Choosing your lettuce

The lettuce family offers a wide variety of colours, flavours and textures, allowing you to constantly reinvent your salads. Certain lettuces have more character and taste than others.

Leaf lettuce has ruffled leaves and is delicious with garlic croutons and bacon morsels.
Iceberg lettuce has crunchy firm leaves that are tender close to the heart. Yummy in a burger or to add fresh crunch to a salad.
Romaine lettuce is a staple of the Caesar salad thanks to its crispy texture.
Mesclun is a mix of tender young salad greens, such as escarole, frisée, mache, chervil, radicchio, dandelion greens, oak leaf, purslane, fresh herbs, and other salad greens. These very tasty greens are wonderful with goat cheese croutons, bacon, or warm chicken livers.
Butter lettuce or Boston lettuce have tender leaves with a delicate taste, and it is best served with fruity or mild vinaigrettes.

Leaf vegetables

Another great way to add variety to your salads: arugula, Swiss chard, baby spinach, sorrel, dandelion greens, mache and watercress.

Arugula is marvelous with mild cheeses and caramelized fruit, like sautéed pears with pine nuts.
Watercress, with its small round leaves and very slightly bitter and peppery taste, is a great match for radishes and cucumber.
Mache has a very subtle flavour and tender texture. It's delicious on its own in a salad, or combined with other mild lettuces like Boston or Iceberg. Dress it with one of these vinaigrettes: orange juice, walnut oil and Xeres vinegar; olive oil, a few drops of toasted sesame oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Lovely with some grilled pumpkin seeds or pistachios.
Swiss chard is recognizable by its large leaves with a white or red spine. It will add a little punch to mild lettuces.

The Perfect Lunch: Salad in a Jar

The best way to pack salads in jars is to line the bottom with the heaviest and most non-absorbent ingredients along with the dressing. Then you can work your way up by adding the lighter ingredients until you end up with the salad greens on top. As long as your jar doesn't tip over you in your bag, the greens will be well-protected from the dressing until you're ready to eat.

Pour 1 to 4 tablespoons of your favourite salad dressing in the bottom of the jar.

Add any hard chopped vegetables you want to include in your salad, like carrots, cucumbers, red and green peppers, cooked beets, and fennel. Add beans, grains, proteins, and then you can add soft vegetables or fruits.

Fill the rest of the jar with salad greens. Use your hands to tear them into bite-sized pieces. It's fine to pack them into the jar fairly compactly.

Screw the lid on the jar and refrigerate for up to 5 days. When ready to eat, unscrew the lid and shake the salad into the bowl.

Have you ever tried grilled vegetables?

It’s another great way to jazz up a salad. Cut up some vegetables (zucchini, sweet peppers, corn, green onions), baste with a little olive oil, sprinkle with dried herbs and broil in the oven on a baking sheet or grill on the barbecue, turning once during cooking. Mix them into the salad or serve as a side dish.