Salad days

To remember a successful salad is generally to remember a successful dinner; at all events, the perfect dinner necessarily includes the perfect salad. — George Ellwanger, Pleasures of the Table (1902)

To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist — the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know how much oil one must mix with one’s vinegar. — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Whether in a restaurant or at home, a memorable date must have a perfect start. That is why having an excellent salad is one of the key ingredients to a successful dining experience.

Many love to eat salad because of its health benefits and the ability to be creative, mixing various ingredients and dressings. Salad greens such as lettuce help provide fiber, iron, vitamin C folate, beta carotene and potassium. The darker-colored greens are more nutritious then the paler type. There are numerous types with iceberg, romaine, and curly lettuce or curly endive being the most popular. Washing and pat-drying with a towel is important as excess water can cause your salad to spoil easily and dilute the dressing which will not coat the leaves. Using a salad spinner is also a good method for drying. Putting it in plastic bags and keeping it in the refrigerator helps keep lettuce fresh. Cutting the leaves with a stainless-steel knife instead of carbon steel will prevent the greens from discoloring.

When it comes to dressing, it is critical to add this at the last minute or serve it separately. This is because salt and vinegar will release juices from your leafy vegetables, causing them to lose crispiness. Oil adds flavor and helps in the absorption of carotenoid, which helps prevent some types of cancer and vision loss. Some salads include mayonnaise which contains vitamin E and protein, white onion (more preferred for salads because of its sweet flavor), garlic (helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol), cucumber (source of fiber) and seafood or chicken. As French lawyer and economist Brillat-Savarin wrote in his book, The Physiology of Taste, salad “freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating.” With infinite variety, abundant supply of ingredients and imagination, making salad is a piece of cake.

Crab Salad

1) Line a 3-quart salad bowl with lettuce leaves (romaine or lollo rossa or iceberg)

2) Mix in a bowl: 1 cup very cold all-purpose cream, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 kilo boiled, peeled 1/4-inch-cubed potatoes, 2 cups canned sugar beets (drained) 1/4-inch cubed, 1/4 cup finely minced white onion, 2 teaspoons fine salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 package (16 pieces) kani crab meat available in frozen seafood section of supermarkets. Remove plastic, cut each into four.

3) Put on top of lettuce-lined bowl. Garnish top with 250 grams fresh strawberries or cherries, washed and dried with paper napkins. Serves 8.

4) Note: if canned sugar beets are unavailable, wash and scrub 500 grams fresh sugar beets. Put in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water, 1 tsp. rock salt. Pressure cook 30 minutes. Peel and cube, or boil with enough water to cover with 1 tsp. rock salt for 1 hour.

5) 2 cups cooked shrimps or canned tuna chunks, or parboiled chicken or cubed sliced ham may be used in place of kani (crabsticks). Consume within 2 days after refrigerated.

Fresh Fruit Salad

1) Line a 2-quart salad bowl with lettuce leaves (romaine or iceberg).

2) Put on top of lettuce: 2 cups each of seedless grapes (unpeeled) 1/4-inch-cubed red apples (unpeeled); peeled and cubed mangoes; fresh orange segments.

3) Drizzle 1 cup (2 small containers) plain or strawberry flavored yogurt. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 8.