Monday, January 24, 2011

Top Tips For Making Perfect Salads Every Time

Salads are simple to make but knowing a few clever tips can ensure that your homemade recipes are amazing, both in terms of appearance and flavor. If you want to make a tossed salad a day before serving it because you are going to have a lot of other recipes to prepare, how do you keep it fresh?
To do this, combine the greens and then divide it between big bowls. Completely cover the greens with water and refrigerate. Drain the water off the next day and serve. It will be fresh and crisp. Use vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, radishes, cauliflower, bell peppers, broccoli, red cabbage, carrots, and green onions. Do not add tomatoes until you are just about to serve the dish.

How to Keep it Chilled

If you want to keep your recipe fresh and cold, fill a sealable plastic container with water and freeze it. Then put this frozen container in a bowl and put your salad on top. It will keep the dish cold and fresh. You can also put the bowl with the salad into a larger bowl containing crushed ice. Serve it on chilled plates.

If you want to make your recipe appear bigger, put an inverted plate or bowl into the serving bowl and pile the salad on top. Nobody will see the inverted dish and the bowl will look full. This is a good trick if you are catering for a buffet or party and appearance is important.

Wash greens before storing them to keep them fresh. Just take out the core and hold the head core side-up under running water, then drain it on paper towels, wrap loosely in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Do not cut leaves with a metal knife or they will go brown. Use a plastic knife or just tear them with your fingers.

Combining the Ingredients

Toss the ingredients together rather than stirring the salad, so you do not bruise or break anything. It is a good idea to make everything bite-sized so people can use a fork to eat the salad. Be careful not to use too much dressing because this detracts from the flavor of the produce. Using too much dressing also adds a lot of fat and calories and makes the salad soggy.

Vegetables should be al dente if you cook them. Overcooked vegetables can be mushy and this is not a good texture for your dish. If you are adding pasta, cook that al dente too. This allows the pasta to absorb some of the dressing and not go mushy. Dip sliced pears, bananas and apples in lemon or lime juice to stop them turning brown.

Dressings to Die For

You can process half an avocado with a cup of vinaigrette in a food processor for a quick and delicious dressing or make vinaigrette by combining one part of lemon juice or vinegar with three parts olive oil. If you are using yogurt instead of sour cream in a dressing, do not use so much vinegar because the yogurt has its own natural acidity.

You can use orange, mango or pineapple juice as a dressing. Just add some honey and nutmeg, as well as some oil, and serve over mixed greens or seafood.


Source: Ezine Articles

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