Chapter 3 - Compound salads (Side Salad, Green Salad, Compose Salad)

CHAPTER 3 COMPOUND SALADS


Caesar - 1 serving everybody (plated)
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American Potato
German Potato
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Greek
Tabbouleh
Fattoush
Thai Beef
Mixed Bean and grains
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Quiz Key:
Beans and Legumes
Grains and Pasta
What is Tiede?
Difference between starchy and waxy potatoes
Types of Salads

CHAPTER 3 COMPOUND SALADS


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Grilled Pineapple
Crab and Avocado
Fried Goat Cheese
Shrimp and Bean
Hearty Greens and Oranges
Potato Crepes
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Quiz Key:
Types of Greens
Mixes
Edible Flowers
Micro greens
Ratio – Salad to dressing
Caring for



SALADS NOTES

∙ Herba Salata - a fresh concoction of seasoned herbs and lettuces enjoyed by Greeks and Romans.
∙ Salad is Roman for Salt

Three major salad categories:
∙ Green Salad- Salad that uses greens and paired with dressing
∙ Side Salad - made from vegetables, potatoes, grains, pastas and legumes
∙ Composed Salad - Arrange salad or salad with a main item or protein


Types of Salad Greens:
∙ Mild greens
∙ Spicy greens
∙ Bitter greens or chicories
∙ prepared mixed greens
∙ Herbs and flowers
∙ Micro greens

Mild greens - biggest category of mild greens is lettuce.
Types of lettuce:
∙ Leaf - green or red leaf
∙ Butterhead - Bibb, Boston
∙ Crisphead - iceberg, romaine

Lettuce should only be wash before it is served.
Mild greens also includes Mache AKA corn salad or lamb lettuce, some of the young and immature spicy greens, and baby varieties of cooking greens and cabbages.

Spicy Greens have a distinct pepperiness or assertive flavors.
The younger the green the less spicy they will be.
Example of spicy greens:
∙ Amaranth
∙ Arugula
∙ Mizuna
∙ Mustard greens
∙ Watercress

Prepared Greens - mixed greens that you can buy in the market
3 most commonly used mixed greens:
1. Prizehead lettuce, red giant mustard and rouge d hiver
2. Red salad bowl lettuce, baby fern leaf dill, chervil
3. Green salad bowl lettuce, hon tsai tai, and Detroit red beet greens

Mesclun mix - often found with a combination of herb and flowers
Oriental mix (OMX) - combination of oriental greens
Baby mix - a generic term of mixes of very young leaves of several varieties

Herbs are the leaves of aromatic plants and used primarily to add flavor to food.
Aroma- is a good indicator of quality.
Herbs should be good in color, have healthy looking leaves and stems and no wilting, brown spots, sunburn or pest damage.

Flowers are added to make a salad more beautiful.
It should not be overused because flowers have a strong taste.
Edible flowers are divided in 2 categories:
∙ Garden Flowers- dianthus, johnny jump ups, popcorn shoots
∙ Herb Flowers-- thyme , lavander, oregano

Micro greens are seedlings of various herbs, greens, and vegetables.
∙ milder in flavor compared to their full grown counterparts
∙ normally used as garnishes

Caring For Salads:
1. Wash in cold water
2. Dry completly
3. Store in container
4. Cut or tear into bite-sized pieces

Dressing the Salad:
1. Place green in a bowl
2. Ladle dressing over
3. Toss with a lifting motion
4. Greens should be coated completely
5. If dressing pooled on the plate, there is too much dressing

Garnishing the Salad:
∙ Choose a variety of garnishes according to your desired presentation.
∙ Adding a Crisp component to the salad gives another level of interest, in terms of both flavor and texture.
∙ Breadsticks can be use as garnish for a salad

Side Salads:

Vegetable Salads are prepared as required by specific recipes.
If a veg salad is to be served raw simply add dressing or vinnegrettes and let it rest long enough for the flavors to "MARRY."
If the vegetables are partially cooked - drain the veggies and add the dressing while the veggies are still warm for faster absorption of flavor. (This works well with root vegetables)
Some vegetables may discolor when combined with acid: in that case the veggies should cool down first and then add the dressing.

Potato Salads - potato should be cooked completely but not over cooked
Waxy potatoes - (yukon Gold or Finnish) hold their shape together
Starchy potatoes - (russet and baking potatoes) don't hold their shape when cooked

Classic American potato salads - creamy salad, typically dressed with mayonaise
Other potato salads - often dressed with vinaigrettes.
The key to success in this type of potato salad is to combine the potatoes and dressing while the potatoes are still warm.
Simmer the dressing and then add the potatoes.

Pasta and Grain salads - Should be fully cooked without being overcooked. They tend to absorb liquid in the dressing making them become soggy. If held for later service, check seasoning because these salads go flat over time.

Legume salads - Dried beans should be cooked until tender to the bite and cooled in their cooking liquid. Center is soft and creamy and if possible skin may break open slightly. Different beans with different times should be cooked separately. Bean salads are the opposite of pasta and grain salads they do not soften further but become tougher over time. Do not dress and allow the salad to rest for extended periods. Use within 4 hrs (barely any texture changes).

Fruit Salads – has a variety of characteristics some are fairly sturdy while others lose their quality quickly. Fruit juice and diluted acidic fruit juices can be used to keep fruits like apples, pears, and bananas from oxidizing as long as it doesn't compete with the other ingredients in the salad. In mixed fruit salads, base large volume batches with least perishable fruits like cantaloupe, honeydew, or pineapple. More perishable fruits like berries and bananas should be used in smaller batches or added to individual servings or as garnish.

Composed Salads – carefully arranged on a plate (not simply tossed together). A "main item," such as grilled chicken, a serving or cheese or grilled vegetables , etc. are often set on a bed of greens.
Principles of a composed salad:
∙ Consider how well each of the elements combine. Contrasting flavors are intriguing. Conflicting flavors are a disaster.
∙ Repetition of a color or flavor can be successful if it contributes to the overall dish. But generally, too much of a good
thing is simply too much.
∙ All of the components on the plate should be capable of standing alone but done in a way that each part is enhanced when eaten as a combination with the others. This produces a intriguing eating experience when a component is eaten alone.
∙ Components should be arranged in such a way that the textures and colors of the foods are most attractive to the eye. The appearance of the plate should be given careful thought.

Warm salads – known as salads tièdes in French is made by tossing the salad ingredients in a warm dressing (working over moderate to low heat.) The salad should be just warmed through. Another approach is to add a hot main item over a bed of a chilled crisp salad.