Spinach, betta fetta, olives, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper
I wasn't always a salad lover. Back in my "semi-homemade" phase of cooking, before I went vegan, I'd throw together some spinach and a carrot and a tomato or bell pepper with some store bought dressing and have it on the side of pasta with sauce from a jar. Then once I started cooking, it was all cooked veggies and no looking back. Why eat a salad when you could just sautee some chard instead?
Then I joined the my CSA and they started sending me lettuce. So, so much lettuce. Two to three big heads of lettuce a week. And arugula. And mizuna. So it was time to learn how to make a salad. And now I actually really like salad, enough that when my boyfriend isn't home for dinner, I get excited over the prospect of just eating a giant salad for dinner. (My boyfriend doesn't believe in "salad for dinner" although he does claim to enjoy a nice side salad.) I think the most important part of salad is variety. We've all experienced the sad side salad in a steak restaurant that's just iceberg lettuce, a couple of carrot shreds, and a lone slice of tomato, and it is no good. In a good salad, you get a variety of tastes in every bite, and what you get changes from bite to bite.
So, with no further ado, here is my salad tutorial:
The base - start with a variety of greens. Some of the regular green leafy lettuce, maybe some red leaf, whatever you've got. Throw in some spinach, arugula, mizuna, whatever you've got in the crisper, but mix it up a little bit.
The secondary veggies (raw) - What's in the fridge that would be good in a salad? I love cherry tomatoes (sliced in half so they don't explode when you bite them), carrots (shredded is awesome, but sliced is good), mushrooms, cucumber, bell pepper, radishes, shredded cabbage, alfalfa sprouts (be careful because all the dressing gets matted in these guys), basically anything that's tasty raw. Just cut it into bite sized pieces.
The secondary veggies (cooked) - Lately I'm really into some steamed green beans in my salads, it started because I had some leftover but now I'll steam some just for salad. Leftover cooked beets are good. I bet leftover roasted or boiled potatoes would be good. Basically any leftovers in the fridge that seem like they would work.
The secondary veggies (pickled) - I was throwing pickled beets and onions in my salad all last week, and it rocked. I bet pickled green beans would be awesome too, or any sort of pickled veg without a totally overpowering flavor. Marinated artichoke hearts sort of fall into this category as well.
The goodies - Baked or grilled tofu is awesome. Or marinated/brined tofu, like the Betta Fetta from the Uncheese Cookbook. Nuts are fantastic, lately I've been throwing in some sunflower seeds. Croutons, of course, it's super easy to make your own by just coating some bread in olive oil and sticking it in the oven for a while. Soy bacon bits. Beans, especially chickpeas. Basically, whatever you have lying around that looks awesome and possibly fattening. Olives, if you're not dating an olive hater like I am.
The dressing - Vinaigrettes are easy and great and classy or whatever, but I gotta admit that I love a nice creamy dressing. I am all about whiping up a batch of the Silken Mayo Dressing from Vcon at the beginning of the week, and it lasts me for three or four nights of salad. I like to throw in some garlic and whatever fresh herbs I have lying around. So tasty and garlicky and yum.
Basically, if you fill your salad with awesome stuff, it will be awesome.
See? Awesome.
I mean, who can resist veganism when it looks like this?