The winter chill is gone and with the coming of the bright sunny days the craving is for crunchy salad. If proper care is not taken while preparing the salad it may lose its crunchiness. So, here are some tips from Ido Fishman Chef. The secret is to wash the vegetables in cold water as warm or hot water will make them lose their crunchiness. Overdressing the salad is another thing, which must be avoided as otherwise it will make the salad soggy. Finally the salad must be served on a chilled plate to keep the crunchiness till the end.
Making a salad can be quite tricky. If the recipe is not right then it can turn out to be bland. A few important things for making a salad are the vegetables should be cut into thin slices, lot of seasoning and generous addition of cheese and nuts.
Here are a few great salad ideas, which can be tasty, crunchy and filled with nutrients.
Celery Salad:
The ingredients for a delicious celery salad are, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1-tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 4 thinly sliced stalks of celery, 2 tablespoon of walnut or pecans, and 2 tablespoon of golden raisins.
The white wine vinegar, the olive oil and kosher salt are taken in a medium bowl and whisked thoroughly and sliced celery stalks (about 2 cups) added to it. The mixture is tossed with walnut and raisins. The contents of the bowl are then transferred to a serving plate and served after sprinkling olive oil over it and topping up with shaved ricotta salata.
Carrot Salad:
The ingredients for making this simple but nutritious salad are, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 cups of thinly sliced heirloom carrots (cut diagonally), 2 pitted and finely chopped dates, ½ teaspoon sumac, and 2 tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese.
Lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, honey and kosher salt are all taken in a medium bowl and whisked thoroughly. Then the carrots are added to the dressing. The mixture is then tossed with the chopped dates and ¼ teaspoon full sumac. After transferring the salad to a platter or individual plates, it is sprinkled with ¼ teaspoon full sumac and feta cheese then drizzled with olive oil, if needed.
Ido Fishman Chef transforms the vegetables magically into a delicious and nutritious dish.
Cabbage Salad:
Cabbage is a wonderful ingredient for a salad due to its natural crunchy character.
The ingredients are, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, half a small garlic clove, finely grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground pepper, 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds.
The apple cider vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt and finely grated garlic are whisked together in a medium bowl. The cabbage is torn into pieces to make about 6 cups of the vegetable and it is added to the bowl. The mixture is tossed with ¼ cup Parmesan and a lot of pepper. After transferring to individual plates or platter, the salad is topped with more Parmesan and pumpkin seeds.
Mint and Lemon Pearl Couscous Salad:
Everyone knows about the magic created by combining mint and lemon. So savor the taste of a mint and lemon salad with this salad idea from Ido Fishman Chef.
The ingredients for the salad are, 5 tablespoon full of extra-virgin olive oil, 1 ½ cups of pearl couscous, 2 cups of low sodium chicken stock, 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 medium shallot, minced, 1 tablespoon full lemon zest, 2 tablespoon full lemon juice, freshly squeezed, 2 tablespoon full fresh mint, finely chopped, ½ cucumber, diced, ½ cup crumbled feta cheese, salt and pepper.
A saucepan is put on medium heat and 2 tablespoon full of olive oil and couscous is added. Stir till the couscous is roasted. Then the chicken stalk is added till it simmers gently. The lid is put on and left to cook for about 8 minutes till the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
The remaining olive oil, garlic, shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice, mint cucumber are added to the mixing bowl along with feta, salt and pepper to taste. The mixture is then tossed and the salad is ready to serve.
Arugula, Egg and Charred Asparagus Salad:
Asparagus is a wonderful add-on to a simple-looking salad. The ingredients are, 4 large eggs, ¾ teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin oil, 12 ounces of medium asparagus, trimmed, ¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon water, and 1 (5-ounce) pkg, baby arugula.
Boil water in a small saucepan. Add the eggs and cook for 8 minutes. Place the eggs into a bowl filled with ice water and leave it for 2 minutes. The eggs are peeled, cut into quarters and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and asparagus are combined on a baking sheet and spread on a pan. It is broiled till slightly charred. Arugula is added and tossed. The mixture is transferred to a platter and topped with asparagus mixture and eggs.
Tuna Salad with Tomatoes, Basil, Beans, Kale and Garlic Chips:
The Ido Fishman Chef magic wand makes some of the mouth watering healthy salads. This delicious tuna salad is one of them.
Ingredients are, 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, 3-tablespoon extra-virgin oil, 1 can tuna, drained, 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, 5 cherry tomatoes, halved, ½ cup basil leaves, roughly chopped, 1 small shallot or ¼ red or yellow onion, 3 cups kale, chopped, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon sea salt, and pepper.
Heat 1 tbsp. put olive oil in a skillet and add garlic slices till brown and crisp. Dry it on a towel. Put tuna, shallots, tomatoes, basil, kale and chickpeas in a bowl. Whisk 2 tbsp. oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Top it all with garlic chips.
