Let's discuss salads.

The Nal

Doodah7 wrote: »

My absolute comfort food:

Fresh salad leaves (romaine or rocket or it doesn't matter!)
Conference pear warmed and browned in a pan then sliced thinly
Black pudding cooked and then cubed
Blue cheese broken into pieces
Croutons
Walnuts

Mix all together with a little vinaigrette.

Bloody bliss in a bowl!!

You could put blue cheese on AIDS and Id eat it

Captain Red Beard

I slice onions, put them in a bowl and squeeze lemon or lime juice over them. Makes the onions sweet. Add to whatever salad you like.

McMurphy

Captain Red Beard wrote: »

I slice onions, put them in a bowl and squeeze lemon or lime juice over them. Makes the onions sweet. Add to whatever salad you like.

I do that myself from time to time.

Happy4all

Doodah7 wrote: »

My absolute comfort food:

Fresh salad leaves (romaine or rocket or it doesn't matter!)
Conference pear warmed and browned in a pan then sliced thinly
Black pudding cooked and then cubed
Blue cheese broken into pieces
Croutons
Walnuts

Mix all together with a little vinaigrette.

Bloody bliss in a bowl!!

Is that a salad?

The Nal

Happy4all wrote: »

Is that a salad?

Yes. A pear and black pudding salad.

Shenshen

I have salads for nearly every lunch during the week. I love the fact that I can eat a big plate, feel happy and full yet not become drowsy and sleepy after lunch.

I can't say I have a favourite, but I do like a combination I'd think of as "German":

lettuce (butterhead, preferably)
grated carrots
sliced radishes (best from a Polish shop, as the ones in the regular supermarket are over-watered and taste a bit bland)
red and / or yellow pepper, cut into chunks
sliced cucumber
sweetcorn
tomatoes
cubes of cheese
sliced spring onion
diced beetroot

Dressing:
2 tbsp of thick yoghurt
some white wine vinegar
2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
finely chopped herbs including : parsley, chives, borage, tarragon (plus anything else you fancy) The dressing should look more green than white.

Doodah7

Happy4all wrote: »

Is that a salad?

Why wouldn't it be?

the beer revolu

Dial Hard wrote: »

I've been growing my own oregano in pots for years and this year it has taken over my entire garden - it's literally growing out of the gaps between my cobblelocks. So if anyone ever wants any, let me know!

Do you dry it?
Home dried, fresh oregano is so much more fragrant than the tired stiff you buy.
It's the only dried herb that I use.
Every year, I dry a big bunch, chop it up and jar it. Each year, I just throw out any left from the previous year.

tayto lover

Does nobody put slices of hard boiled egg in their salads anymore?

the beer revolu

One I like:

Bed of mixed leaves (must include rocket), quartered cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumber - dressed. I've never tasted a shop bought salad dressing that I didn't think was horrible.
Topped with fried slices of cooked potato, black pudding and lightly fried pieces of eating apple.

Not exactly super healthy but it makes a lovely, light summer dinner.

The Nal

tayto lover wrote: »

Does nobody put slices of hard boiled egg in their salads anymore?

Not since the mid 70s

:P

Good old mums salad. Iceberg, chopped tomoatoes, hard boiled eggs, Heinz salad cream.

Gen.Zhukov

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

Chopped:
Tomatoes, red/green peppers, cucumber, black olives, boiled baby spuds. scallions.
Boiled egg cut in half smothered in mayo, some pasta (penne/fusilli)
Small tin of tuna.
Sliced beetroot. Lettuce (optional)
Crusty bread.

(the aforementioned newman's own Italian dressing)

Not a great pic but damn tasty.

the beer revolu

The Nal wrote: »

Not since the mid 70s

:P

Good old mums salad. Iceberg, chopped tomoatoes, hard boiled eggs, Heinz salad cream.

Iceberg????:D:D:D
Newly invented fad!

Dial Hard

Gen.Zhukov wrote:

Not a great pic but damn tasty.

See, to me that's not a salad, it's a cold lunch. Unless the main component is leaves, it's not a salad in my book. Personal opinion, obvs.

I follow an American recipe site on Facebook and you'd want to see some of the stuff they call salad!

tayto lover

Dial Hard wrote: »

See, to me that's not a salad, it's a cold lunch. Unless the main component is leaves, it's not a salad in my book. Personal opinion, obvs.

I follow an American recipe site on Facebook and you'd want to see some of the stuff they call salad!

I’m interested now.
What defines a salad and what defines a cold lunch?

In my day you’d get a salad of lettuce, scallions, hard boiled egg, tomato, beetroot and either chicken or ham, sometimes both.

A cold lunch would be leftover meat and maybe a tomato.

I don’t remember cold slaw, potato salad or peppers ever being on a salad years ago let alone spinach. Only Popeye got that.

Dial Hard

tayto lover wrote:

I’m interested now. What defines a salad and what defines a cold lunch?

Well as I said, to me a salad has to have leaves, and lots of them. You can add stuff to it, but if it doesn't have leaves then it's not a salad in my book.

Also, a salad doesn't have to be cold. I love grilled chicken, halloumi, steak etc in/on a salad.

tayto lover wrote:

In my day you’d get a salad of lettuce, scallions, hard boiled egg, tomato, beetroot and either chicken or ham, sometimes both.

That would probably be what my parents would consider a traditional salad too. Without the beetroot though. And it's certainly what they would consider the correct makings of a salad sandwich!

tayto lover wrote:

A cold lunch would be leftover meat and maybe a tomato.

Or a cold pasta or bean dish. Or a ploughmans type plate.

tayto lover wrote:

I don’t remember cold slaw, potato salad or peppers ever being on a salad years ago let alone spinach. Only Popeye got that.

I would never put coleslaw or potato salad in a salad. Mostly cause I loathe mayonnaise but also because I'd consider them side dishes or components of a cold lunch.

I love baby spinach in salads. I love pretty much all leaves. Except rocket. Or fcuking rocket, as I prefer to call it. I think the lack of variety years ago was simply down to lack of availability of anything else until relatively recently. My mum hates butterhead lettuce because that was pretty much the only salad leaf she ate growing up. She said iceberg was a huge novelty when it became commonly available. Funnily enough, I pretty much never put iceberg in a salad because it was all we ever had when I was younger and I still find it deathly boring.

Peppers are very much an "it depends on the rest of the salad" ingredient for me. I certainly don't put them in all the time.

tayto lover

My lettuce has to have a crunch.

The Nal

Fresh peppery rocket is Gods food. Great in salads, on pizza, on pasta. Has a lovely texture too.

You need a new rocket guy.

Dial Hard

The Nal wrote:

Fresh peppery rocket is Gods food. Great in salads, on pizza, on pasta. Has a lovely texture too.

You need a new rocket guy.

Texture isn't an issue for me, I just absolutely loathe the taste. Always have. And the fcuking stuff is ubiquitous. When I stage my benevolent coup it will be eradicated and replaced with mizuna.

The Nal

Dial Hard wrote: »

Texture isn't an issue for me, I just absolutely loathe the taste. Always have. And the fcuking stuff is ubiquitous. When I stage my benevolent coup it will be eradicated and replaced with mizuna.

If I can be General in Charge of Celery Eradication I'll sign up.

With you on mizuna.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Dial Hard wrote: »

Texture isn't an issue for me, I just absolutely loathe the taste. Always have. And the fcuking stuff is ubiquitous. When I stage my benevolent coup it will be eradicated and replaced with mizuna.

THANK YOU. I hate rocket. People say it’s peppery. I just think it tastes weedy.

Gen.Zhukov

Dial Hard wrote: »

See, to me that's not a salad, it's a cold lunch. Unless the main component is leaves, it's not a salad in my book. Personal opinion, obvs.

I follow an American recipe site on Facebook and you'd want to see some of the stuff they call salad!

Oh that's defo a salad. No added leaves as, while they do add a bit of crunch, they're fairly tasteless and to, me are only used as a carrier for the dressing.

I don't get the love for the rocket either. I think 25 years ago we were spraying round-up on it:pac: Any way, that particular salad was aimed at the poster that was looking to feel stuffed from a salad, hence the added carbs.

B0jangles

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

THANK YOU. I hate rocket. People say it’s peppery. I just think it tastes weedy.

I wonder if this is another version of the famous coriander leaf gene thing, you know, where to some people it tastes nice and citrusy and to others it tastes like soap? Oddly it used to taste really bad to me, then I ended up eating it quite a lot in various indian things and now it tastes pretty nice, but still not citrusy, just distinctive.

meeeeh

Where I come from the same word is used for salad and leuttice so it's probably most common. But then you have french bean salad, tomato salad, greek salad, cucumber salad and many more without any leuttice leaves. What they all have in common is salad dressing.

rubadub

tayto lover wrote: »

My lettuce has to have a crunch.

I just buy cabbage instead now, chopped up finely it reminds me of the hardest bits in an iceberg lettuce. Tesco do a half cabbage nowadays and it takes up little room in my fridge and explodes in size when you chop it up, being sliced in half makes it easy to chop from the start. Lasts ages too, well after the BB date, while I found lettuce too bulky and does not last well at all. I would use a tiny amount on burgers in place of lettuce and love it.

Dial Hard

B0jangles wrote:

I wonder if this is another version of the famous coriander leaf gene thing, you know, where to some people it tastes nice and citrusy and to others it tastes like soap? Oddly it used to taste really bad to me, then I ended up eating it quite a lot in various indian things and now it tastes pretty nice, but still not citrusy, just distinctive.

I used to loathe coriander. One part of it in *anything* and I'd be "Ugh, washing-up liquid, GROSS". But I absolutely love it now and have for years. It's probably my favourite herb. I've often thought there probably is an element of the supertaster/chemical compound thing in my aversion to rocket alright though.

meeeeh wrote:

Where I come from the same word is used for salad and leuttice so it's probably most common. But then you have french bean salad, tomato salad, greek salad, cucumber salad and many more without any leuttice leaves. What they all have in common is salad dressing.

See, I'm not a fan of salad dressings in general. Don't like oily or vinegary dressings at all. Which is anomalous for me as I tend to love vinegary anything else. I just don't really like the texture and mouthfeel of dressed leaves.

In relation to caprese salad, bean salad, potato salad etc, while I'm happy to refer to them by their salady names, I still don't really consider them salads. Would I eat a big bowl of any of them for lunch? No. They're side dishes, imo.

rubadub wrote:

I just buy cabbage instead now, chopped up finely it reminds me of the hardest bits in an iceberg lettuce. Tesco do a half cabbage nowadays and it takes up little room in my fridge and explodes in size when you chop it up, being sliced in half makes it easy to chop from the start. Lasts ages too, well after the BB date, while I found lettuce too bulky and does not last well at all. I would use a tiny amount on burgers in place of lettuce and love it.

Is cabbage not far too sulphorous to act as a salad leaf??? I can't imagine it working as a substitute in pretty much any of the salads I regularly eat. Far too strong and singular a flavour. Plus I actually dislike particularly stalky salads. Once you get to the very crunchy heart of a "head" type of leaf, I'm gone. It's why I don't buy pre-bagged mixed salads; you get all stalk and no leaf. I like a nice, leafy leaf around a slim, crunchy stem. Hence I love chard, spinach, mizuna, mesclun etc.

I have to say, this is one of the most interesting threads we've had on here in ages!

meeeeh

White cabbage is great as a salad for me. But it hast to be sliced really thinnly. One of those cold meat slicing machines is great. It needs to be dressed, salted and left to stand for a little bit. If you don't like dressing then cabbage will be like eating a bit of tin wire. Some sauer kraut salads are great (ad a bit of oil, salt, ham and cheese).

igCorcaigh

Tuna (the white type) with cannelini beans, red onion, parsley, olive oil and lemon.

Makes a great sandwich filler too.

igCorcaigh

I've never seen mizuna for sale.

igCorcaigh

rubadub wrote: »

I just buy cabbage instead now, chopped up finely it reminds me of the hardest bits in an iceberg lettuce. Tesco do a half cabbage nowadays and it takes up little room in my fridge and explodes in size when you chop it up, being sliced in half makes it easy to chop from the start. Lasts ages too, well after the BB date, while I found lettuce too bulky and does not last well at all. I would use a tiny amount on burgers in place of lettuce and love it.

Cabbage is much better health wise and for the environment too.

Iceberg is terrible. Needs lots of water to grow and has little nutrient content.