Everytime I have guests, I receive a lot of compliments about my salads. I use to think that the secret to a great salad is to make homemade dressing but lately I’ve been thinking that there is a lot more to it.

So I decided to ask my twitter friends (tweeps) “what’s your secret to making a great salad” and here’s what they wrote:

@MuskokaRx Broccoli @yyzsportsmedia fresh ingredients @mominc toasted nuts. Or goat cheese. Any cheese really, now that I think of it  @IraKates building flavours @Upaya_Naturals Our #raw sprouted croutons @SharonDV Bacon @ChickyMara crisp cold lettuce. Great dressing. Everything is better with croutons @TheBumpercrop local greens, grainy mustard @Winemakersboots vinegar and something cool like Montrefort cheese and Bizjak pears @Table17 Bacon @foodNURD I’m a big fan of adding candied walnuts/pecans to salads. Great texture/flavour contrast @elisecooks Dry Greens! Something crunchy. Something fruity. The right ratio of salad to dressing @Forkin_Healthy very clean, organic mixed greens. Fruit and cheese too. Maybe nuts or seeds. But clean spun is #1….and it rhymes!

I then took some of the above advice and  made a plate of goodies that I was going to add to a bowl of plain mixed greens. I prepared: chopped apple, pomegranate seeds, dried blueberries, pecans, herbed goat cheese, fresh thyme, blood oranges and roasted dried garlic (that I recently discovered).

Here’s the result:

I will be serving this for dinner Friday Nite and I have no doubt that it will be inhaled. In the event you are wondering what type of dressing I am going to use – please visit again – as I will be blogging about dressings in the near future. Please also take a minute to visit Life Made Delicious for more great salad recipes.

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector Program and I receive special perks as part of the affiliation with this group. The opinion on this blog are my own.

I received this salad recipe via email from a mom in the school yard back in 2007. The email was printed and has been in my “recipe binder” (do you have one of those? or am I the only one!!) and it’s a keeper. Promise you – this salad is a real winner.

I like this salad as it has the perfect combination of nuts, cheese, greens and  I love that the zucchini is slightly sauteed.

It’s called ANTIPASTI SALAD.

Ingredients:

Mixed Greens

3 zucchini – unpeeled, julienned

2 tomatoes – finely diced

1 small red onion – finely chopped

1/2 crumbled feta

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pistachios

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Instructions:

1. Place mixed greens in a large salad bowl

2. Heat frying pan. Add oil and lightly sautee the zucchini till tender (but not soft). Place the zucchini in the fridge to cool.

3. Heat another frying pan. Add nuts (all 4 varieties) and toast till aromatic.

4. Add the zucchini, the toasted nuts and the crumbled feta to the mixed greens.

Dressing:

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Instructions:

Add the garlic into a cuisinart. Then add the olive oil, red wine vinegar and the salt and pepper. The cuisinart really emulsifies the ingredients and your end result will be a much better dressing.

Add the dressing to the salad and toss.

ENJOY.

PS if you are looking for a website with more great recipes – check out Life Made Delicious!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector Program and I receive special perks as part of the affiliation with this group. The opinion on this blog are my own.

Had some friends over for dinner the other night, which gave me the opportunity to try two new salads and repeat one favorite salad. I used tastespotting to look for new recipes and once again, I wasnt disappointed.

TOMATO/HEARTS OF PALM SALAD (I have been making this for years..its a winner) p.s this recipe is from a friend

Ingredients

2 containers of grape tomatoes (cut in half – this is the longest step)

1 can of sliced hearts of palm

corriander

1/4 cup of red onion

Dressing – (sorry I dont have the measurements….will you forgive me?)

vegetable oil

ketchup

cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Mix the tomatoes, hearts of palm, and red onion together in a bowl. Mix the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad.

END RESULT:

SPRINGY QUINOA SALAD WITH SUGAR SNAPS, MINT AND GINGER YOGURT DRESSING

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1/2 lb sugar snaps ( I had peas in a pod – so I used them instead)

1/4 cup sliced, toasted, almonds

1/4 cup fresh chopped mint

Dressing

3/4 cup plain yogurt

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp honey

Preparation:

Prepare quinoa. Add almonds, mint and snap peas to the quinoa. Mix together dressing and add to the quinoa mixture.

END RESULT:

NOTE: I bet this salad could be prepared with couscous instead of quinoa or even as a pasta salad.

Mixed Greens with a Buttermilk Herb Dressing

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 mayonnaise

tarragon, chives, parsley

a bit of minced onion or minced shallot

Preparation: Put all ingredients in the Cuisinart and pulse till the herbs are chopped. Pour the dressing over mixed greens.

END RESULT: