"salad recipe" news and stories

By the time the first sunny spring days arrive to warm our winter-weary bones, cold-weather crops are ripe for the picking, reminding us that plant life persists despite the frost. Of all the seasonal spring produce, slender, tender asparagus holds first place in our hearts, thanks to its earthy, vibrant greenness and a get-it-while-you-can short harvesting season.

Though they aren't the centerpiece of this salad, blogger The Dabble layers asparagus shoots along with strawberries atop spinach -- also lovely in this season -- modeling her recipe after a favorite dish from a wedding reception. While asparagus crops wane, strawberry patches continue to ripen, producing the sort of plump, red berries that seem to define summer -- so make the most of this narrow window during which all three ingredients are lush with color and optimally tasty.

While fancy enough for a black-tie affair, this simple salad would add brightness to nearly any occasion and requires little cooking (just a short tending to those asparagus), which becomes increasingly desirable as the days grow hotter. This recipe incorporates salty feta to balance out the tangy, sweet strawberries and bitter walnuts, but the author thinks blue cheese or goat cheese would work just as nicely, depending on your taste preferences.

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As soon as we can all arrange a day off together myself and the gang - all nine of us - are to hire a boat on the Thames and set off for a picnic on some remote bank. Hopefully next week, before the glorious weather we are currently enjoying ends in the inevitable thunder storm. I am going to take this salad along as my contribution to the picnic; it's a Thai Inspired Melon Salad taken from some Sunday newspaper or other. I thought it sounded interesting -

Thai Inspired Melon Salad

• 2 garlic cloves mashed with olive oil
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• 2 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
• Juice of two limes and the grated zest
• 1-2 red chillies
• 1 Gala/Ogen melon, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2oz/50g unsalted roasted peanuts
• Garnish - plenty of chopped coriander and a little mint

No instructions were given - I guess you just mix the main ingredients together and top with the peanuts and garnish. As for a wine suggestion to accompany; assuming you cannot readily get hold of any Thai wine, I would go for iced water.... or a Singha beer.

I saw this recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light (from 2003) that I had lying around and it immediately caught my eye. Why I didn't make it the first time I saw it, I'll never know, but I'm glad I did it now.

Waldorf salad isn't something that you see too often, but the combination of apples, raisins, celery and walnuts is not only addictive, but crunchy and satisfying. Coleslaw, too, is crunchy and refreshing, which is why it is such a popular side to accompany rich and meaty meals. Of course, both salads are slathered in mayo, so they're not exactly healthy foods despite having low-cal ingredients. This is one of the reasons why I liked the Cooking Light recipe, since it eliminates a lot of the fat but still tastes great. Combining the elements of the two salads into Waldorf Coleslaw worked beautifully.