The Secret Ingredient for Exciting Salads

It’s Fall. And I’m excited about heartier food. Roasted butternut squash. Braised meats. Puréed potatoes. Soup!!!

During Summer, I love refreshing and light meals. But come October, I’m starting to get bored with light and refreshing. 😴

And then I think about salads. Salads can be so much more than just some leafy greens and a vinaigrette. An exciting salad is a beautiful mix of light and hearty. It’s the perfect blend of Summer and Winter. You can’t help but Fall…in love with them. 😉

While I start to crave them in the Fall, you can of course make sensational salads whenever your heart desires.

Here’s what I’ve learned is the key…

Contrast Is The Secret

Salads should be full of contrast. Rich yet acidic. Crunchy yet creamy. Sweet yet bitter.

Use lots of contrast and your salad won’t ever be boring.  

How do you create contrast? Think about different flavors and textures.

• Bright: thinly shaved raw zucchini, a squeeze of lemon juice, or pickled red onions
• Bitter: frisée or radicchio leaves
• Starchy: creamy black beans or toasty farro
• Crunchy: croutons, thick-cut cucumbers, or thinly shaved fennel
• Savory: roasted butternut squash, seared flank steak, or a poached egg
• Salty: feta, kale chips, or salted almonds
• Creamy: Caesar dressing or chunks of avocado
• Sweet: fresh strawberries, dried cherries, or shaved carrots

And there are of course the workhorse ingredients that hit multiple elements at once. Candied walnuts are sweet and crunchy. Goat cheese is savory and creamy. And bacon is salty, crunchy, and savory! 🥓 🙌

So long story short...the more of these different elements you use, the more your salad can take center stage.

Three Quick Fire Tips 🔥

1. Leave Out The Leaves

Here’s something I learned from Milk Street. To make your salads even more interesting, use herbs by the handful. Swap some of your leafy lettuce greens for leafy herbs like parsley, cilantro, or basil. It’s unique and adds a boldness that you’re surely not going to forget.

2. Dress and Toss Toppings Separately

A trick I learned from Alice Waters is that you dress the topping and the leaves separately. You have to do a lot of tossing to make sure everything is evenly coated. And because they weigh more, all the yummy salad toppings end up at the bottom of the bowl. Gravity is such a pain sometimes…

So dress the walnuts, chicken, dried cranberries, and pita crisps separately from the leaves. Once the toppings and leaves are well coated, pour the topping on top of the leaves and shake the bowl gently so they fall down into the leaves. Then all the toppings won’t be stuck at the bottom.

3. Make a Darn Good Vinaigrette

I talked your ear off previously about vinaigrettes so I won’t go on too long here. But a good vinaigrette has a basic anatomy. Aromatics, acid, fat, and a touch of salt. I like to marry my aromatics and vinegar together first: such as covering diced shallot or preserved lemon (see the section below) with apple cider vinegar. Then I slowly whisk in olive oil. Slowly adding the fat makes it easier for the dressing to emulsify. You don’t want your oil and vinegar to separate. If they really start to fight, you can send them to marriage counseling 😉. Then taste for seasoning.

You can see this past newsletter for a more in-depth breakdown of vinaigrettes and ideas for interesting variations.