Salads Rock!

Today in food, I tackle the (in)famous salad.

As a beginning professional chef, I have had to fluffy many a salad in a restaurant. Plating salads totally sucks, in my opinion. But one thing I do love working in professional kitchens is seeing what chefs do with them. The first professional kitchen I worked in, owned by a Top Chef winner, had not only several unique salads as an appetizer, but also had many side salads to accompany the dishes. I had never quite seen salads used quite so extensively, but I saw how each component added a different level of flavor to the dish. Salads are one of the things in the culinary world that allow for by far the most creativity. There are salads in every type of cuisine around the world. And you certainly don't need any lettuce to make a salad!

After being in a few kitchens, I've learned some amazing secret ingredients and techniques to add to salads that I never thought of as a home cook will really bring a whole new flavor to your salads. First thing: season your salad with salt and pepper! To some this may sound like a given, but I know a lot of home cooks that don't do it. if you've never tossed in a little pinch of salt and pepper into your salad, give it a try- it brings out the flavor of anything it touches.

The simplest way to add to your salad is by using herbs and shallots. In the first kitchen I worked in, the chef added what he called "Holy Trinity" to pretty much every salad- minced shallots, parsley chiffonade, and chives. These three ingredients have also become my favorite things to add, especially chives. I put chives in everything now, not just salads. They have this great mild taste that kind adds a brightness and kick. But you can pretty much use any herb that you have in your fridge- mint, basil, cilantro- whatever you like! Just chop them finely and be generous, but not too generous as to overpower the lettuce or whatever.

I use extra virgin olive oil in most of the salad dressings I make because the flavor is superior- however, I also will add a little bit of another oil (either grapeseed or canola oil) with a mild to make a blend, especially if I'm being lazy and mixing the dressing in my blender (yeah, you can do that) instead of whisking. This is because extra virgin olive doesn't seem to like to stand up to much treatment, and if you over mix it, it will become very bitter and can ruin the dressing.

The same goes for cooking, actually. Olive oil has a very low burning point, and if it gets too hot the flavor will be altered. So if you're looking to get a nice brown sear on something, which requires a lot of heat, don't use olive oil. I recommend grapeseed oil, but canola oil will do just fine too. If you want to impart some of the olive oil flavor, either blend with the oil in the pan or put a drizzle just after cooking.

One more thing about salads- variety is key! Anything can be made into a salad basically. Think about it. There's potato salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, etc. If we're going the traditional route here and thinking of lettuce-salads, you can basically take anything and mix it up. One way to start is to change up the lettuce you use. Sick of iceberg and romaine? Try mixing in some arugula, which has a great peppery flavor. A great thing to add that really brightens a salad is fruit- pomegranate, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, melon, pretty much anything will give give a nice blast of flavor. Add some protein with nuts- I like almonds and pumpkin seeds (is that a nut? it is now), or some cheese- goat, blue, cheddar, parmigiano reggiano, pretty much anything will fly.

Short on time and ingredients but need a salad dressing? Add some salt, pepper, olive, and lemon juice, and you have not only of the simplest dressings but also one of the best. Seriously, I use this on salads even when I do have salad dressing on hand.

Here are some recipes for salad dressings!

ROASTED SHALLOT VINAIGRETTE
2 shallots or 1 head of garlic
2 Blended Oils Mixes-1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Roast the shallots by drizzling with 1 blended oil mix, salt, and pepper on top of a roasting pan. Cook in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. Puree in blender and allow to cool. When cool, combine shallot puree with ingredients above (except the other oil blend) and combine. Then, slowly drizzle in oil and either whisk to combine or mix in a blender until well emulsified.

ROASTED GARLIC VINAIGRETTE
Substitute 1 head of garlic in above ingredients

For roasted garlic, cut off the top of a head of garlic, drizzle with the oil mix, salt and pepper, and wrap in aluminum foil. Cook in 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Let cool. Squeeze out 6 cloves of garlic from the head (wrap up the garlic and save the rest in the fridge- mix it into a sauce for tasty garlic treat). Mix the garlic paste with the rest of the ingredients minus the oil. Then, slowly drizzle in oil and either whisk to combine or mix in a blender until well emulsified.

BAXTER'S LEMON LIME VINAIGRETTE
Juice of one lime
Juice of one lemon
1 shallot, finely minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey (or agave nectar if you're vegan)
2 cups EVOO + 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
(For some spice- add sriracha to taste :) )

Mix all the ingredients sans oil in a bowl. Whisk together in a bowl and then slowly drizzle in oil mix until emulsified (or use a blender).

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING
(Note: typically this dressing is made with anchovies, but I despise them, so I've omitted them from my recipe. But if you love them, go ahead and add 2 tsp of anchovy paste to the recipe.)
1 cup mayonnaise (make your own by combining 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp mustard, and a splash of red wine vinegar, and then slowly whisking in 2 cups of vegetable or canola oil in. Whisk until-well- until it looks like mayonnaise, basically.)
6-7 scallions, whites and green parts, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp worth of chopped parsley
10 basil leaves, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste (be careful of salt with anchovy paste, it's super salty

Blend everything together except for sour cream in a blender until smooth. Add sour cream and pulse just until its blended.

VEGAN GREEN GODDESS
6 ounces of lite firm silken tofu
1 1/3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp tahini
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 scallions, chopped, white and green parts
1 tbsp worth chopped parsley
10 basil leaves, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or graed
Splash of soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup water

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy everyone!

Music Related Side Note: I will be at Skrillex tonight at Webster Hall, say hi if you see me!