Simple Green Salads
Green salads are composed of leafy vegetables of various kinds, used either singly or in combination.
There are many different varieties of greens, but the best known are the various members of the lettuce family. These include iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, Boston and Bibb lettuce, and numerous leaf lettuces that may have large or small, curly or smooth, green, golden, or even reddish leaves.
Also considered greens are the favorite Italian salad vegetable, chicory, the expensive and highly prized white Belgian endive, and the ruby red radicchio, whose vivid color and bitter savor lend distinction to salads based on milder greens. Finally, watercress and dandelion leaves can also be used as a salad green.
Before greens are eaten, the tough outer leaves, as well as any damaged ones, should be discarded. The greens should then be washed in at least two or three changes of water and carefully lifted out of the water each time so that the dirt settles to the bottom of the sink.
They are then dried with a cloth or in a salad spinner. This drying process should be done with extreme caution, especially when the leaves are thin and tender, or else they will be crushed and the salad will be full of wilted green. If the leaves are large, it is so good idea to tear them with your hands, or cut them into pieces or thin strips.
Simple green salads often contain other tender raw vegetables like zucchini, baby spinach, artichokes, and carrots. These salads are served with the same dressings used for other salads, though often fresh herbs are added for flavor. Read More about the top 10 Diets Planes
Tossed Salads
tossed salads are made by combining raw vegetables and at times even meat, fish, eggs, or cheese. These salads often turn out to be creating new dishes combining foods that may never have been served together before. The results are obtained when there is an interplay of strong and delicate flavors and contrasting colors. These salads always contain some greens along with a wide variety of unexpected vegetables and why not even fruit.
The vegetables used in tossed salads are usually sliced in thin strips or rounds, and fruit is usually cut into wedges or cubes. Fruit and vegetables that have been cleaned and cut up may be stored in the refrigerator in a bowl of ice water and covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Besides being served as a side dish, a tossed salad can be served as part of an antipasto or even as a main dish if it is especially hearty and filling. If pasta or rice is added, the salad can be served as a first course.
Cooked Salads
Made with vegetables that have been cooked, these salads can be served with the same dressing used for green salads and may contain a combination of vegetables and other foods as well. The "mayonnaise" salad so-called because mayonnaise is the basic ingredient and binds the salad together, belongs to this group.
Gelatin salads are also included. The gelatin matrix not only holds all the ingredients but also adds a glamorous touch.
To make these cooked salads, the vegetables must first be trimmed and washed, then boiled in lots of salted water and drained while they are slightly underdone. If you are using vegetables that tend to turn brown, you will have to soak them in acidulated water, then add a little white flour to the water they are cooked in. If the salad you are making calls for beets, they should be cooked separately, or else they will stain all the other vegetables.
The choice of vegetables for a mayonnaise salad is ample because mayonnaise is compatible with a wide range of flavors. The choice is more difficult when you are making gelatin.
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