The salad course can almost be considered a drumroll, an introduction to the main event: the meal.
“Nothing is more important than that first course,” said Jay Varga (The JDK Group) during Art of Catering Food, “that first impression you can make when serving guests.”
Tangy Avocado Three Bean Salad (garbanzo beans, black beans, cannellini beans, avocados, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, mint leaves, and Za'atar). Photo courtesy California Avocado Commission
What comes to mind when you think of a salad? Is your first thought a traditional, greens-based version? There’s nothing wrong with that type of salad, though it can sometimes be a little boring, as just lettuce on a plate is lettuce on a plate. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ways to dress up a salad without the use of lettuce.
“Lettuce has no flavor, and that’s an issue that really needs addressing,” joked Varga during his AOCF session Salads...Who Needs Lettuce?
Burrata
Burrata is gaining popularity as a salad base due to its versatility and the fact that there’s very little labor needed to produce a beautiful plate.
“We can put just about anything with burrata and change the plate,” Varga said. “It’s a beautiful course, no lettuce needed.”
From the garden
Another way to approach salads is to embrace the bounty of available fresh produce.
“All the fresh vegetables, fruits, everything that you would traditionally use in the salad can still become components of the plate,” Varga said.
Think caprese salads and fruit salads. Seasonal, colorful, and fresh.
Grape Cucumber Salad (mini cucumbers, green California grapes, sherry vinegar, scallions, garlic, and almonds). Photo courtesy California Table Grape Commission
You may be wondering how these creative takes on salads can translate to a large event in terms of difficulty.
“These are all things we do for large events,” Varga said. “It's not any more time consuming than plating up a regular salad.”
What about cost?
“The cost of that plate isn’t that much more expensive than if you just add some lettuce there,” Varga said, “and you can potentially charge more for it.”
Check out these simple salads (no lettuce needed). Bon Appetit!
Veggie Noodle Salad
Recipe courtesy Jay Varga, The JDK Group
Ingredients
Method
- Lay your spiralized noodles next to each other on the plate in the order of squash, carrots, and then zucchini.
- Lay your pickled watermelon radish and red cabbage around the base of the spiralized vegetables and then drizzle with your vinaigrette.
- Garnish with cilantro.
Ingredients for Pickled Watermelon Radish
Method
- Cut watermelon radish into ⅛ inch slices.
- Whisk rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour over radish and toss together. Let sit overnight.
Ingredients for Honey Sesame Vinaigrette
Method
Combine all ingredients and blend until fully incorporated.
Heirloom Winter Salad
Recipe courtesy Jay Varga, The JDK Group
Ingredients
Method
- Peel your beets and rub with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 375 degrees covered for 30 minutes. Let cool and cut slices ¼ inch thick. From there, cut quarter size pieces.
- Use a peeler to shave your heirloom carrots and store in ice water to help them curl.
- For plating, place your burrata at the center of the plate and arrange the cherry heirloom tomatoes and roasted beets around the base. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the burrata, beets, and tomatoes.
- Add the carrot ribbons and drizzle with the orange balsamic glaze.
- Garnish with micro greens and flowers.
Ingredients for Orange Balsamic Glaze
Method
Mix all ingredients together.
Roasted Squash and Grape Salad with Pesto
Recipe courtesy California Table Grape Commission
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the squash on a sheet pan and drizzle with the oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mix well and roast until squash is browned and soft, about 25-30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine warm squash with pesto; add grapes and cheese and gently toss. Divide the arugula among four serving plates, top with the squash mixture and serve.
Ahi Tuna Salad
Recipe courtesy Jay Varga, The JDK Group
Ingredients
Method
- Lightly rub your tuna with olive oil and then crust with sesame seeds. Heat up saute pan and sear on all sides for 30 seconds to 1 minute each and then let rest. Slice once cool.
- For plating, lay your cucumbers as the base and top with your sliced tuna. Add in the orange segments and drizzle with the spicy unagi mayo.
- Garnish with wasabi pearls and tangerine lace.
Ingredients for Pickled English Cucumber
Method
- Cut cucumbers into thick matchsticks.
- Whisk rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour over cucumbers and toss together.
Ingredients for Spicy Unagi Mayo
Method
Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
Ingredients for Wasabi Pearls
Method
- Mix the 1¼ cup of water with the wasabi powder and blend until fully incorporated. Once that is fully incorporated, add in the sodium alginate and blend again.
- Next combine your 2½ cups of water with the calcium chloride and set aside.
- Add your wasabi mixture to the Spherificator and drop into the calcium water. Caviar pearls will start to form. Strain out the pearls and put in an quart container for transport.
Cucumber Melon Salad
Recipe courtesy Jay Varga, The JDK Group
Ingredients
Method
- For plating, arrange your cucumber, melons, ricotta, and jalapeno scattered on the plate but cohesive in design.
- Sprinkle your crushed pistachio over everything and then drizzle with your vinaigrette.
Ingredients for Honey Chili Vinaigrette
Method
Combine all ingredients and incorporate completely together.
Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Chile Roasted Acorn Squash
Recipe courtesy Iztayub Valenzuela for Barilla
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the pasta in salted water for 8-10 minutes. Remove pasta and shock with iced water, rinse pasta. Reserve pasta water.
- Cut acorn squash into ¼ inch rings, remove seeds, rub squash with chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of vegetable oil. Roast squash for about 10 to 12 minutes or until a little tender. Cool down. Cut into a half-moon.
- Mix pumpkin seeds with the same spices used for the squash and roast for 3 minutes. Cool down.
- In a blender, add lime juice, vinegar, chopped garlic, chopped onions, cilantro, avocado, salt and pepper. Blend and add one ounce of oil and 2-3 ounces of pasta water gradually. Add a touch of salt if needed.
- In a medium bowl combine cooked pasta and dressing; mix gently. Top pasta salad with half-moon acorn squash and sprinkles of pumpkin seeds.
Blackened Cauliflower Salad
Recipe courtesy Jay Varga, The JDK Group
Ingredients
Method
- For plating, alternate between blackened cauliflower and burrata. End with the cauliflower.
- Top with the crushed pepitas and fresh herb dressing and garnish with micro flowers.
Ingredients for Blackened Cauliflower
Method
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- In a bowl, toss cauliflower with olive oil and all spices except the lemon wedges. Lay out on a sheet tray with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice on top. Then toss everything together (lemon wedges included). Place salad once again on tray and return to the oven to roast for an additional 15 minutes.
Ingredients for Fresh Herb Dressing
Method
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Note: Should look more like a chimichurri than an actual dressing
