Salade Composée, Day 7, Smoked Salmon

I'm ending this week-long series with a bang.  I absolutely love smoked salmon.  This salad was so good it didn't need any dressing.  Maybe just a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Salty, creamy, juicy, crunchy, yummy for my tummy.  :-)

Salade Composée, Day 7, Smoked Salmon


Ingredients:

• smoked salmon (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
• reduced fat cottage cheese
• shredded carrot
• sliced cucumber
• fresh heirloom tomato from your generous neighbor's yard
• edamame
• salt & pepper

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients on a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Salade Composée, Day 6, Mahi Mahi and Beets

Salade Composée, Day 6, Mahi Mahi and Beets


Ingredients:

• leftover baked mahi mahi
• steamed broccoli
• steamed cauliflower
• sauteed trumpet mushrooms
• boiled red beets
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients on a plate and drizzle lightly with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 5, Roasted Tofu

I wanted to use garbanzo beans but didn't have any on hand, so I used Great Northerns.  Oh, and don't over-steam your asparagus like I did.  ;-)

Salade Composée, Day 5, Roasted Tofu


Ingredients:

• 1 package firm tofu
• olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 can Great Northern beans, washed and drained
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing
• romaine, chopped
• 1/2 Fuji apple, chopped
• asparagus, steamed
• grape tomatoes

Directions:

• Blot the tofu well with a paper towel to remove as much water as possible.  Cut into bite-sized cubes.  Toss with some olive oil and TSSS, roast at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes until lightly golden all around.  You will need 1/4 - 1/3 of the roasted tofu for this salad.  (You can use the rest in tacos!)
• While the tofu is roasting, toss the beans with a couple tablespoons of Newman's Own dressing.  Refrigerate until ready to use, about 15 minutes.  You will need about 1/4 of the beans for this salad. Store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Place romaine lettuce on a plate.  Arrange the rest of the ingredients on top and drizzle lightly with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 4, Chicken Sausage

We went to a friend's birthday party for lunch today, so the salade composée had to wait until dinner.  It totally hit the spot.  I used Aidells chicken sausage from Costco.

Salade Composée, Day 4, Chicken Sausage


Ingredients:

• romaine lettuce, chopped
• baby cucumber, sliced
• grape tomatoes
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• feta chunks
• chicken sausage, grilled per package instructions, then sliced
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Place lettuce on a plate and arrange the other ingredients on top.  Drizzle with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 3, Roasted Mediterranean

We went to the Farmer's Market this morning, and I picked up some beautiful organic produce.  I found a gorgeous purple eggplant and some fresh okra.  I decided to roast them with a giant zucchini from my CSA farm box.  Since I seasoned the veggies before roasting them, I only needed an ever so light spritz of dressing on the salad.  So good!

The veggies have different roasting times (eggplant 45 mins, zucchini 25 mins, okra 15 mins), so I started with the eggplant and then added the others along the way.  Mine all fit on one baking sheet, but feel free to use 2 or 3 if your sheets are smaller.

This makes a lot of roasted veggies, so I will refrigerate the leftovers to go with dinner tonight or tomorrow night.

Salade Composée, Day 3, Roasted Mediterranean


Ingredients

• 1 medium purple eggplant, washed and diced
• 1 large zucchini, washed and diced
• 1-ish pound fresh okra, washed
• olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• grape tomatoes
• olives
• leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large bowl, toss the eggplant, zucchini and okra with a few tablespoons of olive oil and several dashes of TSSS.  Place the eggplant in a single layer on one side of a large baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.  Then add the zucchini to the pan and continue roasting for 10 more minutes.  Then add the okra and finish roasting for 15 minutes until all the veggies are tender.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Arrange the roasted veggies with the rest of the ingredients onto a plate and drizzle sparingly with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 2, Egg and Cheese

Just using up produce in the fridge today.

Salade Composée, Day 2, Egg and Cheese


Ingredients:

• romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 hard boiled egg, quartered
• sugar snap peas
• baby carrots
• sprouted peas
• sweet peppers, sliced
• baby cucumber, sliced
• feta chunks
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Place lettuce on a plate and arrange the other ingredients on top.  Drizzle with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 1, Roast Beef and Tomato

When I was in elementary school, my family vacationed in France (mostly around Paris) many, many times.  But it wasn't until I traveled there on my own during my undergraduate and graduate school years that I really developed an appreciation for the food there.  Yes, the pastries are délicieuses, the baguettes are incroyables, and the cheeses, mon dieu!  But funny enough, one of the dishes that I most fondly recall is the salade composée.

A salade composée literally translates to a composed salad.  It is a dish of fresh produce, un-tossed, arranged into a beautiful, colorful display.  There is no "right" or "standard" version, the salad is made with whatever the cook has fresh on-hand that day, and the best ones come from the tiny 5-table mom-and-pop eateries tucked down the small cobblestone alleys.  Crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, crunchy cucumbers, shaved carrots, snappy haricots verts, creamy baby potatoes, thin slices of salty salami or ham, hardboiled eggs, the variety is endless.  It is then drizzled with a simple, light vinaigrette.  During my travels if an eatery had a salade composée on their menu, that's what I'd order.

With these beautiful memories in mind, I am going to embark on a 1-week salade composée vacation in my kitchen.  For each of the next 7 days, I will be making a salade composée for lunch.  Each version different than the last. I want to show you that a satisfying salad does not have to be boring or tossed in some heavy goopy dressing.  Think fresh, and think flavorful.  I'm drooling.  Let's get started!

Salade Composée, Day 1, Roast Beef and Tomato


Ingredients:

• deli roast beef slices
• steamed asparagus, chilled
• cubed cantaloupe, chilled
• mozzarella ovals, halved
• grape tomatoes, halved
• steamed green beans, chilled
• Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients onto a plate and drizzle sparingly with vinaigrette.

Chopped Cucumber, Tomato and Apple Salad

ETA on 6/11/13:  I made this today and added 1/2 of an avocado, diced.  The creamy avocado was so good with the crunchy cucumbers and apple.

Think salads need to have lettuce in them?  Think again.  I love chopped salads and they are just fine and delicious either with or without lettuce.  I'm taking the kiddos to the park for a picnic in a little bit, and here's what I packed for myself.  Refreshing on a hot day.

Chopped Cucumber, Tomato and Apple Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
• handful of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 a Fuji apple, chopped
• couple tablespoons of crumbled Feta
• a drizzle of Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

Directions:

• Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes before digging in.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I was craving buffalo wings this weekend.  There's something so delicious about crispy, juicy, spicy wings dipped into cool ranch dressing.  DROOL!

I thought I'd throw something together that was a little healthier.  I bought a bottle of Frank's Original Hot Sauce, heated it up with a little Smart Balance, tossed in some cooked shredded chicken breast, and threw it over a green salad.  YUM!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 2-ish tablespoons Smart Balance
• 1/2-ish cup Frank's Original Hot Sauce
• 3-ish cups cooked shredded chicken breast

Directions:

• Melt the Smart Balance in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Once it's melted, add the hot sauce and bring to a simmer.
• Add in the chicken, toss well, and heat through.

I spooned it over a green salad and drizzled with reduced-fat ranch dressing.  I'll be using the leftovers tomorrow for buffalo chicken sandwiches with whole wheat rolls.  I'm a happy camper.

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad

This was so simple, yet so delicious.  It has 3 of my favorite foods: cheese, lusciously sweet grape tomatoes, and rich creamy avocado.  The original recipe calls for fresh herbs, but I only had dried, so that's what I used.  My local supermarket carries BelGioioso (LOVE!) mozzarella "pearls", which are the perfect size for this dish.

I made just enough for a single serving for me, but this dish is very easily made in medium batches for a family, or big batches for a party.  

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. mozzarella "pearls", drained
• 1 small handful grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• juice of 1/2 a small lime
• a couple dashes of salt and black pepper
• a dash of dried basil
• a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

• Toss everything together in a bowl.

You can cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to let everything marinate, or do as I did today (last-minute-like) and eat it right away.

Cucumber and Mango Salad

This salad is best made with baby/persian/pickling cucumbers and green mangoes.

Baby/persian/pickling cucumbers because they're crunchier than regular cukes, have thinner skin, and have no seeds (well, technically they do have seeds but they're tiny and not as noticeable as the ones in regular cukes).

Green mangoes because of the tang and crunch. Pick a mango that has dark green and red skin, but most importantly, make sure it's FIRM. 

Cucumber and Mango Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 persian cucumbers, diced (about 2 cups worth)
• 2 medium green mangoes, peeled and diced (about 2 cups' worth)
• balsamic vinegar
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the cukes, mango, and enough balsamic vinegar to liberally coat everything.
• Add salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Toss well and let sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy.

This salad keeps well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days, but any longer than that and it loses its crunch.  It's actually quite delicious if made the day before and left to marinate overnight in the fridge.

Impromptu Green Bean and Whatever Salad

My evening class got canceled today, YAY! Well, YAY for me, sorry for my teacher who is at home sick. :-( It's an absolutely beautiful day out, the sun is shining and it's about 72 degrees. Perfect park weather for a quick afternoon Moms' Group outing with the little tot.

I didn't feel like eating my boxed leftover lunch today, so I rummaged through the fridge and pantry to see what I had on hand. Some leftover green beans, a ripe avocado, and a box of baby heirloom tomatoes. I was debating between the pouch of tuna fish and the can of sardines. Tuna fish won out today, but I think next time I'll do the sardines. Gotta get in those weekly Omega-3s. :-)

Impromptu Green Bean and Whatever Salad
Based on whatever was in my fridge and pantry.

Ingredients:

• a handful of steamed green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
• a handful of baby heirloom tomatoes, halved or quartered
• half an avocado, diced
• some crumbled goat cheese for the tang
• a pouch of tuna fish
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Toss everything in a bowl and eat.

YUM!