Break out of your same-old-salad rut

• Building a better salad

Chicago Tribune

If you're stuck in a greens-with-tomato-and-bell-pepper rut, try these salad recipes, or adapt ideas from them.

Chicken-breast strips, jicama and sweet red onions make nice additions to this salad developed by William Rice. Note that the citrusy dressing needs to season overnight or all day.

Summer Salad with Fresh Citrus Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger root
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Salad:

• 1 pound fresh asparagus or green beans, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 1 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced
• 1 orange, separated into segments
• 1 cup dates, cut in thin strips

Combine citrus juices with minced ginger in a small bowl; refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Pour mixture through fine strainer into a small bowl; discard ginger. Whisk in oil, honey, mustard, salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

Place asparagus or green beans in a medium pot with 1 teaspoon salt and water to cover; cook over medium heat just until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; place under cold running water to stop cooking. Refrigerate.

Toss lettuce with 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette; divide among 6 plates. Toss asparagus, fennel, orange segments and dates in a large bowl with the remaining 1 cup vinaigrette. Spoon mixture over lettuce with a slotted spoon.

Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information per serving: 300 calories, 52 percent calories from fat, 19 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 620 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 4.1 g protein, 5 g fiber

This nutty, tangy salad makes use of cheese and biting arugula. Expect those who dislike things bitter to ignore the arugula. To indulge them, if you are so inclined, substitute baby spinach.

Swiss Cheese Salad

• 10 ounces swiss cheese (gruyere preferred), cut into thin 1 1/2-inch strips
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 large bunch arugula, torn

Combine cheese, onion and parsley in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl; whisk in oil. Pour over cheese mixture; toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, spoon cheese mixture over arugula in a salad bowl.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 310 calories, 72 percent calories from fat, 25 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 15 g protein, 1.7 g fiber.

Lentil Salad with Lemon Dressing

• 1 1/2 cups dry lentils
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/4 small fennel bulb, diced
• 1 large clove garlic, halved
• 3 green onions, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon

Rinse and sort lentils. Cover lentils with cold water by 3 inches in a medium saucepan; heat to boil. Remove from heat; drain.

Return lentils to pan; cover with fresh cold water. Add anise seeds and red pepper flakes; heat to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook just until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine carrot, fennel and garlic in a small saucepan. Cover with water; heat to boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender and garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Drain; mince garlic.

Combine garlic, carrots, fennel, onions, parsley, mustard, thyme, salt, celery salt and pepper in a medium bowl; stir in olive oil and lemon juice.

Drain cooked lentils; add to carrot-fennel mixture. Toss; set aside 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Taste; season if needed.

Makes 8 servings. Nutrition information per serving: 255 calories, 48 percent calories from fat, 14 g fat, 1.9 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 325 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 10 g protein, 9 g fiber

Seven-layer Salad

• 1 package (16 ounces) iceberg lettuce mixture
• 3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 green onions, minced
• 9 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked until crisp
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place greens in a large glass bowl. Place one layer each of celery, green pepper, onions, bacon and peas over greens. Spread mayonnaise evenly over peas, covering the top completely and sealing to edge of bowl. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Toss before serving, if desired.

Sliced hard-cooked eggs and cooked shrimp make excellent additions to this classic Kraft salad, found in "Back of the Box Recipes." For lower fat content, use light mayonnaise or yogurt for some of the mayonnaise and low-fat cheese. The layers can be seen (and admired) better in a straight-sided glass bowl.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 425 calories, 85 percent calories from fat, 40 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein, 3.4 g fiber.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Apple Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:

• 2 cups fresh apple juice or cider
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Salad:

• 2 medium size beets, unpeeled
• 1 onion, unpeeled, quartered
• 4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 4 cups loosely packed mixed baby salad greens (mesclun)
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or walnuts, coarsely chopped, see note

For vinaigrette, boil apple juice in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, 50 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; set aside to cool. Whisk in mustard and vinegar. Whisk in oil, salt and pepper to taste; store in jar until ready to use.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. For salad, wrap beets in foil. Place directly on oven rack. Place onion wedges and garlic in an 8-inch square baking pan; cover tightly with foil. Bake until onion and garlic are fork-tender but not mushy, about 30 minutes; set aside to cool. Continue baking beets until fork-tender, about 45 additional minutes; set aside to cool 30 minutes.

Peel the beets, onion and garlic cloves. Cut the onion coarsely; chop the garlic; cut beets into 3/4-inch cubes. Separate vegetables in separate containers for transport.

Divide the salad greens among 4 plates. Cover greens with beets and onions. Sprinkle with hard-cooked egg and chopped garlic. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over each salad. Top with crumbled cheese and toasted nuts.

Test-kitchen note: To toast nuts, spread nuts in a large skillet; heat over medium heat, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 200 calories, 58 percent calories from fat, 14 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 2.7 g fiber.

This is one of the sturdiest salads for transporting. It was developed by William Rice.