Inexpensive Winter Salad Ideas

[Aunt Bea]

I'm looking for some suggestions from folks on inexpensive winter salads made with "fresh" supermarket vegetables. I make the standard cabbage salad, carrot salad, etc... I just need a couple of new ideas to add to my rotation.

I also wanted to share this old standby from Marion Cunningham for "Fire and Ice Relish". I mix the dressing ingredients in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave it until it boils, then I let it steep while I prepare the vegetables. I use chunks of vegetables about the size of half a grape tomato. I also change up the vegetables depending on what I have on hand. Today I added a cucumber and a rib of celery. It is also good made with a finely minced fresh hot pepper instead of the cayenne. I like having a "scoop" salad in the fridge for a quick lunch or a dinner side. This one is good for 3 or 4 days.

Recipe: Fire and ice relish | Star Tribune

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks for the link Aunt Bea, sounds like something I can eat! I'm quickly getting coleslawed out.

 

[Mad Cook]

I'm looking for some suggestions from folks on inexpensive winter salads made with "fresh" supermarket vegetables. I make the standard cabbage salad, carrot salad, etc... I just need a couple of new ideas to add to my rotation.

I also wanted to share this old standby from Marion Cunningham for "Fire and Ice Relish". I mix the dressing ingredients in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave it until it boils, then I let it steep while I prepare the vegetables. I use chunks of vegetables about the size of half a grape tomato. I also change up the vegetables depending on what I have on hand. Today I added a cucumber and a rib of celery. It is also good made with a finely minced fresh hot pepper instead of the cayenne. I like having a "scoop" salad in the fridge for a quick lunch or a dinner side. This one is good for 3 or 4 days.

Recipe: Fire and ice relish | Star Tribune

This is rather good and nice and fresh when you've been eating winter stodge.

1980: Spicy Orange Salad, Moroccan Style
This recipe appeared in an article in The Times by Craig Claiborne.
3 large seedless oranges
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red-wine or sherry vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup chopped parsley
12 pitted black olives, preferably imported Greek or Italian.

1. Peel the oranges, paring away all the exterior white pulp. Cut each orange into 8 wedges. Cut each wedge into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
2. Place the cayenne, paprika, garlic, olive oil and vinegar in a salad bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine. Add the oranges, parsley and olives. Toss gently to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature. Serves 4.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

with modern Supermarkets, all of the ingredients for a great Caesar's Salad are available, and only the cheese is pricey. Here's a simple salad that's easy to make, not expensive, and delicious. The dressing makes this salad.

Caesar’s Salad

Caesar’s Salad Dressing
½ tsp. anchovy paste
1 small garlic clove
A two finger pinch of Kosher salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. lemon zest
¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs. olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ tsp. Freshly chopped basil.
3 tbs. finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Croutons
3 cups torn 1" pieces country bread, with crusts
3 tablespoons olive oil, or vegetable oil


Veggies:
3 romaine hearts with leaves washed, separated, and spun dry

Seasoning:
Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated fresh over the salad


Of course you can change this to something like a cob salad, or even a simple tossed salad. The salad dressing will work with all of them.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Another favorite salad, and one that is good for all seasons is a good 3-bean salad. here's my version.

Ingredients:
Drain each can, and each must contain the same amount of product.
1 can each, garbanzo (chick peas), whole green beans, whole waxed beans.
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. celery seed
3 tbs. sugar
1 onion, chopped
3 tbs. roasted red pepper
Balsamic Vinegar to taste.

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for an hour.

You can change up the bean mixture. Use black beans, kidney beans, and waxed beans, or lima/butter beans, and green beans.

I find that I need some kind of long bean (wax or green) in my three bean salad. If you steam your green or wax beans until they just get tender (about 15 minutes), then place immediately into cold water, that's better than canned beans.

Basically, three bean salad is a sweet and sour marinade of sugar, water, and vinegar, combined with your favorite beans, onion, celery flavor, and whatever else you want to add. I've even turned it into a 4 or 5 bean salad, and it's still great.

A 20 second google search gave me this site - http://www.simpledish.com/search/?q=salad&gclid=CKSUpK3WqsMCFQcyaQodox0Aqw

The recipes look great.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Kayelle]

I've made this salad three times just since Cheryl posted it on another thread. I use half the amount of olive oil called for and lemon juice instead of lime. It's really delicious and worthy of a stand alone meal.

Black Bean and Corn Salad II Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[Mad Cook]

with modern Supermarkets, all of the ingredients for a great Caesar's Salad are available, and only the cheese is pricey. Here's a simple salad that's easy to make, not expensive, and delicious. The dressing makes this salad.

Caesar’s Salad

Caesar’s Salad Dressing
½ tsp. anchovy paste
1 small garlic clove
A two finger pinch of Kosher salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. lemon zest
¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs. olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ tsp. Freshly chopped basil.
3 tbs. finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Croutons
3 cups torn 1" pieces country bread, with crusts
3 tablespoons olive oil, or vegetable oil


Veggies:
3 romaine hearts with leaves washed, separated, and spun dry

Seasoning:
Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated fresh over the salad


Of course you can change this to something like a cob salad, or even a simple tossed salad. The salad dressing will work with all of them.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I'd love to try a really good Caesar salad but unfortunately we are a bit paranoid about raw eggs over here so the best we can do is a nasty powder in a packet which you reconstitutes with water. Bleuch!

 

[Mad Cook]

Another favorite salad, and one that is good for all seasons is a good 3-bean salad. here's my version.

Ingredients:
Drain each can, and each must contain the same amount of product.
1 can each, garbanzo (chick peas), whole green beans, whole waxed beans.
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. celery seed
3 tbs. sugar
1 onion, chopped
3 tbs. roasted red pepper
Balsamic Vinegar to taste.

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for an hour.

You can change up the bean mixture. Use black beans, kidney beans, and waxed beans, or lima/butter beans, and green beans.

I find that I need some kind of long bean (wax or green) in my three bean salad. If you steam your green or wax beans until they just get tender (about 15 minutes), then place immediately into cold water, that's better than canned beans.

Basically, three bean salad is a sweet and sour marinade of sugar, water, and vinegar, combined with your favorite beans, onion, celery flavor, and whatever else you want to add. I've even turned it into a 4 or 5 bean salad, and it's still great.

A 20 second google search gave me this site - Search Results For: salad | Simple Dish | Quick, Easy, & Healthy Recipes for Dinner

The recipes look great.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I make something similar with chick peas, red kidney beans and flageolet beans or sometimes sweet corn kernels..

The dressing is similar except I use some oil (olive or whatever you like best) and no water.

 

[Dawgluver]

I'd love to try a really good Caesar salad but unfortunately we are a bit paranoid about raw eggs over here so the best we can do is a nasty powder in a packet which you reconstitutes with water. Bleuch!

Saw this on Rachel Ray today, sounded good: http://www.food.com/recipe/no-egg-caesar-dressing-rachael-rays-105760

She added some anchovy paste to the recipe on the show.

 

[Mad Cook]

Grated (shredded) carrots with peanuts or whatever nuts you ilke - toasted or not, whichever you prefer, with a vinaigrette type dressing using oil (to match your nuts if you like) and balsamic or sherry vinegar and fresh herbs. If you like it chopped, fresh coriander (cilantro) goes well with this.

 

[GotGarlic]

How about this?

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network

 

[Aunt Bea]

I'd love to try a really good Caesar salad but unfortunately we are a bit paranoid about raw eggs over here so the best we can do is a nasty powder in a packet which you reconstitutes with water. Bleuch!

You can use the yolks from hard boiled eggs with good results, just buzz it up in the blender so that it completely emulsifies into the dressing. Chop the whites and use as a garnish.

 

[Cheryl J]

I've made this salad three times just since Cheryl posted it on another thread. I use half the amount of olive oil called for and lemon juice instead of lime. It's really delicious and worthy of a stand alone meal.

Black Bean and Corn Salad II Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Thanks for reminding me Kayelle....I said I'd post it in the salad section and forgot. It is tasty, that's for sure. I'm so glad you like it as much as I do.

 

[Cheryl J]

You can use the yolks from hard boiled eggs with good results, just buzz it up in the blender so that it completely emulsifies into the dressing. Chop the whites and use as a garnish.

That is a great idea! I have a bit of a problem with using raw eggs, too - probably totally unfounded. I'll try that.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

This is a simple Orange Ginger Vinaigrette I recently found. It's on my " to try" list when I pick up some oranges. I know they were directing this recipe at me when they wrote: Keep the salad ingredients simple ( don't throw in some of everything from the frig and allow the dressing to star. Can't follow directions. I already wrote down add some onion and sliced chicken as a reminder. And perhaps some avocado slices ....

Orange Ginger Vinaigrette

zest of a medium-sized orange
juice of 1 medium-sized orange
2 tablespoons ginger, freshly grated
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For salad -- Keep it fairly simple and allow the dressing to star

• mixed greens
• tomatoes
• cukes
• (red onion)
• (sliced grilled chicken)

Pulse the orange zest, ginger, and garlic in the food processor or blender until well combined. Add the juice, basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and blend together. As the mixtures is blending, slowly add the extra virgin olive oil through the top opening of your food processor or blender. Add more salt and pepper if needed, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Adapted from "cooking and beer" (blog)

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'd love to try a really good Caesar salad but unfortunately we are a bit paranoid about raw eggs over here so the best we can do is a nasty powder in a packet which you reconstitutes with water. Bleuch!

Raw eggs can be pasteurized to make them safe to eat, without cooking them.

It's an easy thing to do. Check YouTube for a video on it, or just google - How to pasteurized raw eggs.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Aunt Bea, cleveland.com had an article about winter salads a while back. Since their search feature is basically non-existent, I did a quick googling and come up with lots of links. These few have promising looking entries:

Winter Salad Recipes for Healthy Dinner Ideas - Shape Magazine

http://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/bright-and-healthy-winter-salads#.aowLM8Nqx

Warm Winter Salads | Food & Wine

 

[Zereh]

The black olive thread reminded me of a great salad we've had a couple times: Oranges + red onions + black olives dressed with a simple vinaigrette and fresh cracked pepper. Was delish! It's great with roasted chicken.

 

[Aunt Bea]

That is a great idea! I have a bit of a problem with using raw eggs, too - probably totally unfounded. I'll try that.

I think you could also make a decent Caesar salad dressing by substituting commercial bottled mayonnaise for the raw egg yolks and oil, maybe thin it with a tablespoon or two of water if it is too thick.

Take a look at this version from our friends at Hellmann's!

Easy Caesar Dressing

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thanks for all of the great ideas!

I'll see what looks good at the market tomorrow and give at least one of these a try next week. The orange, cayenne, black olive combination caught my eye, I have a dim memory of a fussy version of that salad from my childhood. A "black eyed Susan salad" made with a slice of orange on a bed of greens, a black olive in the center, drizzled with a sharp vinaigrette dressing.