Salads are big during the spring, especially if you have access to a great organic farmer’s market. If you are looking for a way to lower your calorie and fat intake, then experiment with salad recipes. Salads are easy to make, they contain high levels of anti-oxidants and they are tasty.
The first thing that you need to learn when experimenting with salad recipes is how to properly select and prepare greens and fresh vegetables. To start with you will want to select crisp vegetables that have vibrant colors. If there is slime on the vegetable or if the vegetable is wilted, it isn’t any good. Don’t use it. Before you start cutting up your vegetables you will want to wash and dry them. Your goal is to remove dirt, sand and other contaminants from the vegetable, as well are remove small stones that could have piggybacked on your lettuce.
You have a couple of options when it comes to preparing a salad. Your first option is to simply tear your lettuce and hand break your veggies into bite size pieces. This creates a very rustic looking salad. If you are trying for a more formal looking salad then you will want to chop and slice your veggies. For an American style salad cut vegetables straight across, for a more Asian looking salad, cut veggies lengthwise into long strips.
Traditional Jewish recipes for salads are known for taking advantage of the ingredients that are available in the local market. This is a Jewish recipe strategy that you can also use when developing a salad recipe. For example, you can look for fresh Spring greens, local produce or simply experiment with the veggies that are available in the produce department of your local market. Remember to return next week to read a Jewish recipe blog on the upcoming berry season.