Salad is a mainstay of our diets in summer, when all we want is fresh and cool food. However salad is delicious enjoyed all year round. Depending how you make it, serve salad as a side dish, a starter or a satisfying, complete meal. Make it for home or to grab and go – to a picnic, to the beach or to the office. And forget routine: the combination possibilities are endless! Here are a few to get you started.
A salad is a great way to try out new flavour and texture combinations. For a varied and balanced salad just build your own using the following components.
• Base: pick one or mix several: green leaves (lettuce, kale, rocket, spinach), chopped red or white cabbage, pasta, rice, or cooked grains, such as quinoa, bulgur or faro.
• Raw or cooked vegetables: add colour and flavour to your base by arranging on top some of the following: sliced avocados, grated carrots, thinly sliced onions, sliced or cubed peppers, cucumber, or courgette. Sautéed mushrooms and caramelised roasted carrots, pumpkin, or sweet potatoes add extra umami zing.
• Optional protein: to serve as a main course, add some protein to your salad. Steamed or smoked salmon, shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs or cheese are always good choices. For a meat-free salad choose tofu, beans or lentils.
• Some fruit: fruit brings freshness and sweetness to a salad. Ideally, choose seasonal fruit, when it tastes the best. Mango pairs well with salmon and red berries with chicken. Consider adding peaches or plums to a fresh mozzarella salad. Dried fruit, such as apricot, figs, cranberries or sultanas can be also used.
• Crunchy toppings: use nuts, seeds, croutons or tortilla strips for a crunchier texture. To intensify the flavours, toast the nuts and the seeds.
• Other toppings: olives, fresh herbs, sprouts, anchovies, capers or other pickles can be used to enrich a salad further.
• Dressing: to finish, drizzle over your favourite dressing. Super easy to make with Thermomix®, choose the traditional Yoghurt dressing, the Lime-cilantro vinaigrette for a fresh flavour or the Orange curry dressing for an exotic taste.
Get creative and mix and match ingredients with different textures, tastes, colours and temperatures, as desired. Serve your salad mixed in a bowl or a lunchbox, presented in layers in a jar. or separate the ingredients on a tray for guests to pick and choose. Use serving rings to plate the salad ingredients elegantly. And for salads containing fresh green leaves, remember to add the dressing just before serving.
• Wash lettuce and other ingredients: use the Varoma dish to wash vegetables and fruit under running water, then cover with the Varoma lid and shake well to remove the excess water.
• Chop: chop soft vegetables, fruit or hard-boiled eggs 3-4 sec/speed 4; for hard vegetables, 3-4 sec/speed 5 should do the trick. To chop lettuce, place leaves in mixing bowl, cover with approx. 1000 g water and chop 10 sec/speed 4. Then drain through Varoma dish.
• Shred: place deboned, cooked meat without any sauce in mixing bowl and shred 4-5 sec//speed 4.
