Need new ideas for cold salads

During the summer, or whenever you can get good, flavorful tomatoes try a panzanella salad. It's made of toasted italian focaccia or ciabatta, cubed and toaasted with chunky tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, kosher salt, black pepper, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's a surprising winner. During the winter and early spring, try a cold barley salad of cooked and rinsed pearl barley, thinly sliced grilled top round, sliced scallions and red onions, chopped cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce and canola oil (just a little.) Just a couple ideas; hope they are helpful.

[KC]

Shrimp, linguini, pea pods, green onions in a Thai peanut sauce.

OR rice, baby peas, shallots, bell peppers, parsley with a vinaigrette.

[kpollard_2000]

I'm looking for some new cold salad ideas. Anybody for sharing there favorites. Here's one of mine.
1cp white vinegar
1cp vegetable oil
1cp sugar
2 tsp mustard
garlic salt
pepper
chopped parsley
Mix, then add your favorite cooked pasta while it's still warm. I then add sliced black olives, sliced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, sliced red onions. You can make it as exotic as you like. I usually keep my dishes simple.

[shroomgirl]

Root slaw, celeriac, parsnips, carrots all shredded with red pepper, green onions and flat leaf parsley mix with creole mustard, mayo, horseradish and a hit of vinegar, may need a pinch of sugar.

My pasta salads include two shapes of pasta, a meat (grilled or baked) sauteed peppers, shrooms, zucchini then blanched asparagus
If it's Italian I go with basalmic dressing and basil, dried tomatoes work too as well as red onions. If it's Greek I use oregano, feta, calamata olives and a lemon dressing.
Asian is a hoisin or peanut dressing with shiitake, snow peas, baby corn, asp, red pepper.

Green bibb with roasted pecans, asparagus, oranges, blue cheese and a fruity vin.

Nicoise, bed of lettuce with grilled tuna, nicoise olives, green beans, egg halves, french potato salad with new potatoes or B
size, good anchovies if I've got em.

Potato salad....German, French or mayo base,
I adore using potatoes that have been in a seafood boil, the spiciness goes great with a creamy dressing.

Grains....Tabbouli, loads of garlic, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, green onions and a lemon dressing

Pissonolet....dandilion greens with a soft poached egg, bacon, potatoes and a vin....yummmmm

Great Caesar with good croutons.

Grilled veg with basalmic is a buffet standard for me. Red peppers, fennel, red onions, squash, asparagus, portabellos, eggplant.

Had a fabulous rice salad at a gite d'etape on the Normandy/Britanny border in France years ago and it has been a summertime standard in my home ever since.
Although the original was made with regular long-grain rice, I use basmati. The rough proportion is:
1 cup raw rice to yield 2 cups cooked with
1 6 oz. can tuna
Use the oil or water from the tuna in the rice cooking water.
Add to the warm cooked rice:
1/2 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup sliced black olives
Toss with a good olive oil vinaigrette
Best served at room temp.
Beautiful color.
Sounds too simple but WOW! Great combo of flavor and color!
Everyone loves it. I use it as a summer lunch main dish.

Oops! Just re-read that rice salad recipe I posted late last night. My directions sound like you should cook the tuna with the rice. NO. Use the oil or water as part of the liquid but add the tuna with the veggies after the rice is cooked. Sorry for the imprecision.
This recipe is difficult for commercial food service because like so many French and Italian salads it is best at room temp and the food police will getcha!
Sorry for the misleading directions. It is a really tasty dish with wonderful colors and textures. And pretty cheap to boot!

[Bklyngirl]

I learned this in Spain (no measurements though!)

rice about two cups
mixed veggies - stringbeans cut in half, corn kernels, carrots diced fine, petit pois
about 1 small onion minced
ham in a nice dice
take about 4 eggs scramble them and fry in a bit of olive oil - make a pancake. dice them up like the ham. Let them cool.

mix together and drizzle with olive oil, any white vinegar salt and pepper to taste. or use your favorite vinaigrette.

decorate with strips of roasted red peppers.

[Joan]

Hi,
I have two quick recipes, first one is a vegetable medley, par-cook and ice down equal amounts of Broccoli and Cauliflower Florets, mix with a good Ranch-style or Caesar dressing add a bit of grated Parmesan Cheese and toss in Grape or Cherry Tomato's cut in half (add at the last minute it turns everything pink)Yellow Cocktail Tomato's can be added as well for a nice color boost, serve ice cold. I also have a Wild Rice salad with a Citrus-Cilantro Dressing, and I guess I spoke too soon, the recipe is at my Cafe', so I will add it on tomorrow.

Joan

[KyleW]

I like to vary the base of salads as much as the other ingredients. I love using orange and yellow lentils or quinoa as a base for cold salads.

[Nicko]

I always loved doing a cold roasted vegetable salad (zuchinni, yellow squash, new potatoes, carrots, whole garlic, grilled radiccho, etc) with a balsamic vinaigrette. Always popular in summer time.

Arugula & Pignoli Salad - a bunch of arugula, roasted pignoli, sliced prosciutto, diced green onions if you like - tossed, by hand, with 2 T olive oil, 1 T walnut oil, S&P, 1 t dijon mustard and the juice of one lemon

[lynne]

Are you looking for main course salads? side salads?

My current favourites are:

Curried Fruited Couscous

Saute onions w/curry powder, add 2 parts chicken stock to 1 part OJ. Bring to a boil. Pull off heat and add couscous and a handful of craisins. Cover until couscous has absorbed the liquids, add chopped died apricots, raisins, dried cherries, chopped parsley, toasted pecans. (Be careful not to make the curry flavour too strong--it will intensify as it sits).

My other is a simple pasta salad: Mini bowties (my current favourite shape), fresh mozzarella, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, basil chiffonade, cracked pepper, parsley, olives, olive oil, salt, little garlic, little red wine vinegar. I often add or serve on a bed of spinach chiffonade.

Nicoise with a great pesto aioli

Bed of greens topped with red onion, oven dried tomatoes, strips of a beautifully grilled flank steak, roasted potatoes, sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles with an orange viniagrette

Strawberries & balsamic vinegar on a bed of greens garnished with sliced toasted almonds

[Nick.Shu]

i felt like experimenting today so i took some smoked turkey, fried bacon bits, sun dried tomatoes, toasted almond flakes and some mixed lettuce. With this, i dressed it in a cranberry mayonnaise - yum, apparently.

[Shimmer]

I don't think it's particularly original, but I happen to love a good Cobb salad. The flavor combo is great, especially with quality avocados and really good blue cheese. Add honey mustard dressing and who could ask for anything more!!!

I had the best one in Leavenworth, WA.

Otherwise, I think anything pasta based with uncommon cheeses and oils are excellent.

Also, the salads that are combos of citrus fruits (grapefruit, orange, tangerine) and avocados are some of my favorites, but not very practical this time of year. Unless you live in California or Mexico!

[banqueteer]

Thanks everyone...I have the same group to prepare food for weekly, and they get 4 salads on their buffet. This has given me a lot more ideas.