Building a better salad

• Break out of your same-old-salad rut

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

"That's what people think, but building a good salad isn't simple," says Mandy Toshiba, a cooking hobbyist who says she has been "living on salads" these past weeks.

Toshiba, 32, of Hawai'i Kai, garnered some tips about salad-making from her favorite magazine, Cook's Illustrated, as well as by picking apart salads she liked in various local restaurants and taking a Kapi'olani Community College course. "I always wondered why certain restaurant salads were so much better than mine until I started paying attention and asking questions."

"My No. 1 tip: Find an oil-and-vinegar dressing you enjoy, learn to make it and always have some on hand. I don't like bottled dressings, because they have weird ingredients in them. A good dressing comes in handy for marinating meats and fish, too. I guess No. 2 would be to buy the best ingredients you can afford, because in a salad there aren't a lot of places for cheap ingredients to hide."

A salad is a trio of components: the body (greens, potatoes, beans, rice or other grains that form the bulk of the salad); the dressing, which pulls the disparate elements together, and what Toshiba calls "accessories," the good stuff that lends the salad character.

Here, from Toshiba, from Cook's Illustrated and from the food editor's files are five tips for each component.

The main ingredient

1. To keep greens fresh, wash in cold water, dry with paper towels or in salad spinner, store in crisper in Salad Sac or loosely wrapped in paper towels inside open plastic bag.
2. Use delicate greens (butter or Manoa lettuce, "wild" greens or mesclun mixtures) the day of purchase; romaine or other firm-textured greens can keep.
3. Cooking some ingredients enhances colors, releases flavors, increases appeal to reluctant salad eaters. Blanch carrots, green beans, asparagus in boiling salted water; stop cooking in ice water. Roast onions, squash, peppers in an oiled pan at 400 degrees until softened and browned at edges.
4. Add fresh herbs such as mint, parsley and basil directly to salad instead of in dressing, which mutes flavors.
5. For pickle-crisp cabbage in slaws, sprinkle shredded cabbage with salt (1 teaspoon per pound) and wilt 1 hour. Rinse in cold, running water and press dry with paper towels.

The dressing

1. Oils with high solid content, such as extra-virgin oils or nut oils, must be refrigerated in our warm climate to avoid spoilage.
2. Blends of acidic ingredients are more appealing. Combine lemon and wine vinegar, orange juice and balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar and lime. Balance with a touch of sweetness — sugar, honey or fruit juice.
3. Dress individual salad components to ensure even coverage before layering or composing salad. Some ingredients — cucumber, tomato, onion — benefit from marinating in dressing beforehand. Greens can be lightly dressed just before other ingredients are added.
4. Try this idea from Los Angeles restaurateur Fred Eric as quoted in the Los Angeles Times: Make a cross between a vinaigrette and a puree using roasted or sauteed vegetables; a "salsa fresca." For example: roast yellow bell peppers and yellow tomatoes, sauté onions, then whir in blender with olive oil and vinegar.
5. Match dressings with ingredients: mellow greens with acidic mixtures; bitter greens with creamy dressings; spicy greens with assertive flavors balanced with a bit of sweetness.

Accessories

1. Contrasting hot and cold adds interest and heft. Top mixed greens with grilled or pan-roasted meat or fish fillets, crab cakes, a round of baked goat cheese or broiled tofu. Or drizzle a hot vinaigrette atop greens or roasted vegetables.
2. Exercise restraint to avoid muddling flavors: Greens, two or three types of crunchy vegetables; one or two garnishes or flavoring ingredients are sufficient.
3. In green or potato salads (i.e., Nicoise), grill fresh tuna or use tuna packed in olive oil. For salads that call for bacon bits, use thick-cut bacon, chop first and fry over medium heat for 10 minutes; drain well.
4. Make homemade croutons: Mince 2 cloves garlic and add to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt; let stand 20 minutes, strain. Toss 3 cups 3/4-inch crusty bread cubes with this oil and bake in preheated 350-degree oven 12-15 minutes.
5. Taste, taste, taste. Drag a leaf of lettuce through the dressing and nibble it. Make sure green beans or broccoli florets or asparagus are just tender-crisp. Sample marinated or roasted ingredients.