Appetite for Reduction (4 page)

Anatomy of a Salad (or, the Salad Dissected)

DRESSING UP AND DRESSING DOWN

For many of us, the dressing is our downfall. It’s become a cliché that a typical American salad can have more fat and calories than a burger and fries. And sadly, low-fat salad dressings are often chock-full of chemicals and sugar, and boy, does it ever show. I’ve had upward of ten bottles of low-fat dressing languishing in my refrigerator door, barely used, unwanted, unloved. So I finally gave up even trying and now my dressings are exclusively homemade. Does it take a little extra time? Yes, but usually no more than ten minutes. Is it worth it? Oh, heck yes.

I take a few approaches to salad dressings to get the most out of the ingredients without adding lots of oil. Pureed nuts—especially raw cashews—are my secret weapon in many of the recipes. Nuts have several benefits that oils lack. From a health angle, nuts are a whole food, containing fiber, omega-3s, nutrients, and protein. They also bring big flavor to the dressing, especially if they’re toasted first, as in the
Romesco Dressing
(page 47). And to top it all off (literally!) pureeing nuts give dressings excellent texture: smooth and creamy, with plenty of body. Nuts emulsify the dressing naturally, without needing to add any sugars, chemicals, or eggs. The amount of oil you’d need to accomplish all this wouldn’t make it one step into a low-fat cookbook before getting bounced out by security.

Speaking of emulsifying, all that means is that you’re mixing liquids of varying viscosity, so that they combine without separating. I’m sure you’ve seen how easily ingredients in dressings separate, but they just need a unifier to bring them together. Nuts are one means, mustard is another, but I often use miso as well. In addition to thickening and emulsifying, miso brings a backdrop of deep, savory flavor to dressings. I like to keep a variety of misos on hand, but I’m kind of an ingredient hoarder. For everyone else, just keep a small tub of a mild white miso that you can use for anything and ignore my specifications for a particular kind. What do I know, anyway?

There is one recipe here that calls for silken tofu. That isn’t for everyone—in fact, only recently has it become for me—but when cool and creamy is your calling, a shelf-stable vacuum pack of silken tofu is a pretty handy tool.

I use different vinegars for the dressings, because vinegars are a relatively inexpensive way to bring flavors and nuance to your dressings. Dressings need acidity, but I try not to overdo it. Add small amounts at a time to get a dressing to your “Mmmm” place. Just remember, with vinegars it takes about a second to go from “Mmmm” to “Ewwww.” So practice restraint when straying from the recipes and experimenting with vinegars, but definitely do experiment and find a vinegar
that you love. I dig white balsamic, but maybe champagne vinegar is your calling? Play around and see.

And as I say throughout the book, this is a low-fat collection, not a no-fat collection. I use such ingredients as peanuts and tahini because not only do they add a world of flavor, but a little fat actually helps you to absorb the nutrients in your food. So, I repeat, don’t be fat-phobic with your salads!

 

But Where Do You Get Your Protein?
Although even greens contain small amounts of protein, it usually takes something more to help us feel full and energized. Many of these salads already contain protein-rich ingredients such as beans, quinoa, nuts, and tofu. But whether you want to make up your own combo or add protein to one of the salads in this chapter, there are lots of great ways to bulk up your bowl.

Whether it’s from a can of beans I opened and rinsed, or from dried beans I simmered myself, I always keep handfuls of cooked legumes at the ready in small containers in my fridge. Some of my favorite salad beans are chickpea, kidney, and cannellini—all sturdy beans that hold their shape when they’re tossed around. Switch it up and keep things interesting.

I sometimes just cube some tofu and throw it into my salad, but I’m hard-core like that; the rest of the world might not be able to handle it. If you’re like the rest of the world, you can try thinly sliced grilled or baked tofu in your salads. Keep leftovers stored in airtight zippered plastic bags; they taste great cold. Same goes for tempeh.

Quinoa is my favorite salad grain. Because it cooks up and cools down so fast, it’s as convenient as can be, and I try to keep some cooked quinoa hanging around atall times. I also love the texture of quinoa in salads; it’s got a slight chewiness that makes it fun to munch away on, and it also extends the flavors of the dressing, being so small and absorbent. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a complete protein!

Nuts give salads great crunch. Because of their high fat and calorie content, I use them in moderation, a few tablespoons at a time. Sliced almonds are a great deal—because they are so thinly sliced, a little goes a long way. They’re especially excellent toasted, as in the
Catalan Couscous Salad with Pears
(page 47). I also love cashew pieces, toasted walnuts and pecans, and toasted pine nuts. A sprinkling of sesame seeds goes a long way, too.

 

A Berry for Your Thoughts

Fruit is a great addition to salads, especially with very vinegary dressings. The acid brings out the sweetness of the fruit in unexpected ways. I admit to not getting incredibly adventurous with fruits in salad—the usual suspects do a pretty good job, especially when they’re in season. You won’t see me putting cantaloupe or bananas in my salad—but hey, maybe you’d love that! My favorite fruits to use are sliced strawberries, whole raspberries and blackberries, sliced pears and apples, and orange segments (learn how to get pretty orange segments in the
Wild Rice Salad with Oranges & Roasted Beets
, page 39). When the season is right, make a day of it and go berry picking or have a blast at an apple orchard. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a strawberry fresh-plucked and still warm from the morning sun. You’ll also get in some exercise and save a couple of bucks. Win win win!

 

Lettuce Begin

When we come to greens, this is really where you can see how much the supermarket has changed in the past twenty years or so. Crotchety old man voice: “In my day, we had a head of plastic-wrapped iceberg lettuce and a bag of coleslaw mix and we liked it!” But when it comes to the produce aisle, even Kansas ain’t in Kansas anymore.

I do call for a variety of salad greens in this chapter, but instead of taking you step by step through every curvy, frilly, silky, crispy, and otherwise sexy variety of lettuce, I’ll just tell you this—try them all at least once! Salad greens have as much nuance as wine and supermarkets vary year-round in what kinds they keep in stock. Taste the greens and detect the different notes: bitter, spicy, sweet, mellow. There are worlds of flavor in that leaf.

That said, my go-to everyday lettuce is romaine, with a little arugula thrown in when I want to spice things up. Sure, it’s not all that exciting, but I enjoy the crispiness and convenience of it.

 

The Usual Suspects

I love seedless cucumbers, orange grape tomatoes when they’re in season, all manner of sprouts, especially broccoli and alfalfa, sliced cremini mushrooms, and when it comes to onions, make mine red: you just can’t beat their crisp, sweet bite. New and fun radishes are popping up at farmers’ markets and it never hurts to add a few for a little spice and color.

Tools of the Trade

As far as equipment goes, I’m willing to make a few more dirty dishes if it means it will make my salad all that much more lip-smacking.

A
huge metal mixing bowl
is my vessel of choice, for tossing together ingredients and getting everything evenly coated. Use a pair of metal tongs, and toss like the pros!

Because you’re making relatively small batches of dressings at a time, a
small food processor
is necessary to blend the party up nice and creamy. I’m pretty sold on the Magic Bullet. Full disclosure: A tester for this book turned me on to it and now I find it indispensible. The reason I love it so is not just that it gets the job done quickly, cleanly, and efficiently, but it comes with several containers that can be used not only for blending, but also you can store the dressings right in them; no need to transfer to Tupperware. Several lids and containers with handles (meant, I think, to make margaritas in) make it possible to store a variety of dressings all at once. It’s a small kind of very convenient heaven, as seen on TV.

Not completely necessary, a
salad spinner
is great to keep washed lettuces crisp and dry and ready for any dressing you choose to throw at it. It also doubles as a colander! Consider picking one up when you’re ready to make salads with deadly precision.