“I don’t like salad because it always seems to be a pile of leaves dressed in vinegar and oil”.
“I don’t make salads because I can never get the dressing right”.
“Salads are boring to eat and flavourless.”
These were the echoes that were drifting through the Sixth Form workroom last Wednesday when the regular ‘Unpublished Article Brainstorm Session’ (UABS) was underway. As a major salad enthusiast, I was appalled that such a fabulous food was getting torn apart by naive salad cynics. So alas, as the self-appointed food writer of Unpublished, I present to you: Salad Theory. A rundown of the supreme green and my tips and tricks to create a delectable bowl of beauty. Enjoy!
To begin, it is important to unpack the fundamental characteristics of a salad that make it so magnificent. Quite simply, what makes a salad so great? As you can probably predict, the health benefits that a good salad provides are innumerable. This is due to the wide array of salad ingredients on offer. In one bowl you can get your daily supply of iron (think dark leafy greens), fibre (any fruit or veg), protein (nuts, seeds, beans, meats), hydration (lettuce is literally like 90% water), as well as a boatload of vitamins and minerals to strengthen your immune system, make your hair luscious, toughen your nails and clear your skin. Contrary to popular belief, a good salad will also substantially fill you up for a couple of hours and give you enough energy to get through a gruelling afternoon of revision or whatever else you may be doing.
If the ‘health is wealth’ route hasn't convinced you, have you ever thought about the versatility of a salad? Or perhaps how fun it can be to eat? A good salad makes for a delicious on-the-go lunch, picnic dinner or dinner-party guest. Equally, there is nothing more satisfying and simple than chopping up a bunch of ingredients, pouring over some well-made dressing and tucking into your masterpiece with a large spoon/fork. You feel a sense of accomplishment after making it, followed by intense satisfaction after eating it. A good salad can also be a superb sharing dish, allowing you to spread joy to all of your fellow indulgers.
Perhaps you may now be excited by the thought of a salad and eager to make one but maybe you are still wondering; what actually makes a “good” salad? The Salad Theory states that the key to a perfect salad lies in 4 departments: Colour, texture, flavour and ratios. Let me break each one down.
Colour: If your salad does not feature at least 3 different colours, you are doing something very wrong (with the exception of certain monochrome salads e.g. the Green Goddess Salad). A good variety of colours not only raises the ‘fun level’ of the salad, it also increases the range of vits and mins you are obtaining from the salad. Examples of ingredients you can add to up the colour diversity will be mentioned later on in the Theory.
Texture: Salad texture is essential. Similarly to colour, a range of textures in a salad are what bring a bowl to life. Thus, when making a salad, make sure you include ingredients that have a different feel and bite to maximise satisfaction. This is also where the importance of a well-made dressing comes in (I will explain this in more detail later).
Flavour: Relatively self explanatory. I feel like the reason salads often get such a bad rep is because of the under-seasoning and lack of punchy flavours they are subject to. If you take away one thing from this article, let it be that a salad tastes 10000x better when it has a wow-factor flavour.
Ratios: Next time you go to make a salad, make sure you bring in a science calculator with you and a decent knowledge of ratio maths problems. I am partly joking, of course, however, this is Salad Theory so there is a scientific element to it. How often have you had a salad that is 90% leaf, 1% dressing and 9% miscellaneous vegetable? Whoever made it clearly did not pay attention to Salad Theory! Whenever you make a salad, you must follow the 2:2:1 rule. I.e. Equal parts leaf base to toppings and half that to get dressing. Apply this rule even if you are making a salad where you chop all the ingredients really small and eat it with a spoon.
Alright, now that we have covered the basics of Salad Theory, we can put our knowledge into practice. When building your dream salad, think of it in terms of an orchestra. Each instrument (or ingredient) belongs to a specific family. The various families work together like a machine, relying on each other and supporting each other to create a musical masterpiece.
Family 1: The Base (or bass if we are following the orchestra metaphor. Or percussion?). The heart and soul of the salad. Could be iceberg lettuce, romaine, lambs lettuce, rocket, kale… Although if you are using kale, make sure you quite literally ‘massage’ it for 10 minutes before you add anything else or it will be bitter and nasty.
Family 2: The Protein (Brass). The slightly dominating presence that gives a salad proper substance. Depending on your dietary preferences, some good options include: Shredded rotisserie chicken, strips of grilled steak, pan-seared shrimps or marinated tofu cubes. For some even simpler options, open a can of butter beans or chickpeas or black beans for a quick but delicious protein addition. Side note, if you are making more of a side salad to compliment a larger meal, this may not be as necessary.
Family 3: The Sweet Factor (Strings). The delicate but often delightful chorus that brings an extra pop of colour to the salad. Often, this is the perfect opportunity to incorporate a fruit into a salad, which can be very fun. Also a great moment to tick the ‘colour’ box. Some options: Chopped apple, thinly sliced pear, berries, diced mango, potentially some cubed beets, roasted sweet potato cubes, pomegranate seeds, sweetcorn. The list goes on; be creative!
Family 4: The Crunch Factor (Woodwind). The quintessential group that the salad would be incomplete without. As I’ve said before, crunch is Necessary to upgrade a salad from mediocre at best to spectacular. Some crunchy ideas: roasted chickpeas (25 mins in a 180 degree oven with any spices of your choice and olive oil), any sort of nut or seed (personal favourite - drizzle a generous amount of maple syrup over some nuts and roast for 15 minutes before topping with some rock salt), sugar snap peas, diced cucumber, sliced carrot or cabbage.
Family 5: The Dressing (The Conductor). What is an orchestra without a conductor holding it together- a catastrophic mess. Precisely what a salad is without a well-made dressing. The dressing is what brings together each individual element of the salad, creating a symphony of flavour and magic. There is no one way of making a dressing, it really depends on the type of salad you are creating. If your salad ingredients are already quite flavourful by themselves and you don’t want your dressing to take over in flavour, might I direct you to the “Soft and simple dressing” recipe below. Alternatively, if your ingredients are relatively plain and unseasoned, perhaps you need a dressing that has a more passionate flavour that will form the basis of your salad’s character profile. In which case, I recommend trying out the “Bold and beautiful dressing” recipe below.
Soft and simple dressing:
1 part extra virgin olive oil
3 parts acid (lemon juice, balsamic, red wine vinegar, cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or a combination of 2 is also fun).
Hint of sweetener to taste (maple syrup, honey, agave, sugar. It helps to balance the flavours).
A generous pinch of salt (always put a little more than if you were just seasoning a normal sauce as it will distribute around the salad and overall the salad will taste much less salty).
Pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder… any other seasonings you fancy.
Treat this as your base dressing recipe that you can tweak and edit depending on your salad’s theme. If you want an Asian-inspired salad, you could add some grated ginger and soy sauce, as well as possibly substituting the olive oil with sesame oil and lemon juice with lime.
Similarly, if you are making a taco-style salad, you could add taco seasoning to the dressing.
Don’t be shy with the amount of dressing you make, you want there to be enough for every single ingredient to be covered in it to maximise flavour.
Bold and beautiful dressing- a take on the green goddess dressing:
½ cup raw cashews
1 cup plant milk
Bunch of herbs (basil for a pesto flavour, coriander for a bit of zing, parsley perhaps, or some mint. A mix is best in my opinion).
1-2 garlic cloves
3 spring onions or a shallot or half a small onion
Juice of a lemon, or 2 tbsp red/white/rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 tsp sweetener of choice
Any additions you have in your cupboard eg. 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, or any other nut.
Blend all until smooth and season to taste.
This creamy dressing has a bold herby flavour. If this isn't the vibe of salad you are going for, you could swap the herbs for another punchy flavour like harissa paste, miso or mustard.
After you have made the dressing and assembled all the ingredients in your bowl of choice, pour the dressing in, put a large plate on top of the bowl (to form a lid), hold the lid down on the bowl and shake the bowl well to mix everything together and spread the dressing around. (Upside-down action may be necessary, this is an intense arm workout and an integral step of salad-making.)
Once you have done that, you can tuck in to your salad concerto and let your taste buds dance! If you have made it this far, congratulations, you are officially a Salad Theory expert.
As always- salad recipe inspo can be found on insta @ayasveganmunch2
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