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* Salads |
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To me, there is nothing like a salad to demonstrate the brilliant simplicity of Italian cooking at its best. Perfectly fresh vegetables, locally grown and full of flavor, rich extra-virgin olive oil, and good wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice are the basic ingredients. A simple salad is usually eaten with the main course in Italy (or sometimes after, as a light finish or palate cleanser). With the addition of cheese, canned tuna, cooked chicken, or eggs, the salad may be served as a first or main course. Organize all of your own recipes with the Cook'n Recipe Software. Watch and see how easy it is!
Italian salad dressing is always very simple, so as to let the quality of the ingredients shine through. Like the sauce on pasta, there should be just enough dressing to coat the salad, and never so much that there is a pool of it left at the bottom of the bowl. Dried herbs, bottled lemon juice, flavored vinegars, or poor-quality oil do not make a good salad, so don't even think about it. The so-called Italian dressing sold in bottles has nothing to do with the real thing. Italian salad greens include all the familiar varieties, such as romaine, Boston, and leaf lettuce, as well as less well known kinds, such as soncino, known here by its French name, mâche, or sometimes as lamb's lettuce. The silver-dollar size leaves are dark green and tender and have a mild flavor and soft texture. Misticanza is a mix of wild baby greens and herbs, preferred in central Italy, especially Rome and Abruzzo. The flavor depends on the type of herbs gathered. In the springtime, Romans eat puntarella, Catalan chicory. Trimmed and soaked in cold water, the greens curl up, resembling pale green ribbons. Puntarella is crisp and chewy and has a slightly bitter flavor. To keep them fresh as long as possible, it is best not to trim or wash salad greens until shortly before you plan to use them. Tear off the stems and discard any bruised or discolored portions and tough outer leaves. Wash the greens in a large basin or bowl of lukewarm water. Slightly warm water removes soil better and helps to perk up greens that are a little wilted. Allow the greens to stay in the water briefly to allow any grit to sink to the bottom while the greens float to the surface. Lift the greens out of the water with your hands and drain them. Repeat, washing the greens until there is no grit in the bottom of the basin. An important key to a good-tasting salad is to dry the greens thoroughly. A salad spinner does the job best. Once dried, the greens can be wrapped in paper towels and stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours, though the sooner they are used the better. Many greens turn brown when cut with a knife, so just before assembling the salad, tear the leaves into bitesize pieces. GREEN SALADS Mixed Green Salads Tricolor Salad Green Salad with Lemon and Pine Nuts Spinach and Egg Salad Arugula and Parmigiano Salad Roman Spring Salad Green Salad with Gargonzola and Walnuts TOMATO SALADS Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Salad Neapolitan Tomato and Bread Salad Tuscan Bread Salad Tomato, Arugula, and Ricotta Salata Salad Tomato and Egg Salad Avocado and Tomato Salad VEGETABLE SALADS Rviera Salad Pickled Vegatables Russian Salad Mushroom and Parmigiano Salad Fennel and Parmigiano Salad Fennel and Olive Salad Spicy Carrot Salad Potato and Watercress Salad Artusi's Potato Salad Green Bean, Potato, and Red Onion Salad Green Bean, Celery, and Olive Salad Warm Lentil Salad Fava Bean Puree with Seven Salads Summer Rice Salad SALADS WITH FRUIT Crunchy Salad Pear and Pecorino Salad Orange and Fennel Salad Beet and Orange Salad FISH SALADS Shrimp and Rice Salad Shrimp, Orange, and Anchovy Salad Sardine and Arugula Salad Grilled Scallop Salad Venetian Crab Salad Calamari Salad with Arugula and Tomatoes Lobster Salad Tuscan Tuna and Bean Salad Couscous Tuna Salad Tuna Salad with Beans and Arugula Friday-Night Tuna Salad DRESSINGS Gorgonzola and Hazelnut Dressing Lemon Cream Dressing Orange-Honey Dressing From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, with recipes, cooking tips and more! |
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