Disguise the greens to beat boring salads this summer

We have officially entered salad season, the time of year when we go from heavy to light foods, hot to cool, and let’s not kid ourselves here, it’s because we’re wearing less, poolside and otherwise, or we want to.

So we salad as much as possible, one leafy forkful at a time, pushing aside sandwiches and other things that seem more interesting than another plate heaped with greens, because truthfully, they are. Salads can be boring things.

But what about salads disguised as something else? Salads eaten in ways you might not expect?

I had what was basically a salad inside of a spring roll at a Thai place not long ago – they were called “salad rolls” because that’s all they were, lettuce wrapped in rice paper. They were okay, but I thought they could’ve been better. After that, I began to imagine other ways to present salads and I came up with all sorts of ideas. Salads, turns out, don’t have to be so predictable and dull.

They also don’t have to just be a bunch of lettuce, although I’ve made and eaten plenty of salads that are just that – lettuce with a simple vinaigrette – and served at the end of a meal in France. These salads aren’t meant to be anything fancy. You eat them and move on to the cheese course. Or maybe you skip the cheese and go right to something chocolate (raising hand here).

My point is a salad can be that simple, or it can be something else.

One of my favorite salads to make this time of year is a Greek-inspired salad that’s just cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and some fresh herbs. The key is to chill it down for several hours beforehand. This is probably one of the few salads that I’ll eat for two days in a row, because it seems to improve the second day. Here, I’ve stuffed the salad into a pita and so I could eat like a sandwich. Way more fun.

In a similar fashion, I made a chunky salad out of asparagus and avocado and stuffed it into a wrap.. So easy to eat, this not-burrito feels like one salad and is not messy at all. This would make a great take along to a picnic; just make sure you find a wine that’ll pair well with asparagus, because it’s tricky. (I like a Vouvray.)

I made an easy homemade flatbread and heaped it with a salad of thinly sliced radicchio and fennel; more of a slaw, really. The anise-flavored fennel and the slightly bitter radicchio took well to a balsamic vinaigrette. I added tons of Parmigiano on top of it all. You can never have too much of that.

And in a slightly wacky spin, I decided to add salad on top of a cold soup. I made a pea soup with buttermilk, poured it into a shallow bowl, and made a little greens salad with crunchy croutons, pistachios, and slices of San Daniele ham I crisped in the skillet. It’s not that weird – we often have soup with a salad, why not combine them?

Funny thing is all that salad making has gotten me thinking about skillet cookies – you know, making one big cookie in a skillet instead of a batch of several dozen. With all the calories I’ve saved by eating salads all week, I feel like I deserve it. It’s just one cookie, after all.

Buttermilk pea soup with spring salad

Makes 4

• ¼ baguette, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• sea salt and pepper to taste

• 1 shallot, sliced

• 12 ounces frozen peas

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 1 ½ cups buttermilk

• about 10 fresh mint leaves

• ½ lemon

• 4 handfuls spring lettuce mix

• Champagne vinaigrette, recipe follows

• 4 thin slices San Danielle ham, cooked until crispy

• 2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Toss the pieces of bread with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sea salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes or until browned. Save time: Make your croutons a day in advance and keep in a plastic bag.

3. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until it starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and the chicken stock, plus salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 3 minutes. Pour into the blender, add the buttermilk and mint leaves and blend until very smooth. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

4. Right before serving, squeeze some lemon juice in the soup and taste for seasonings. Divide among 4 bowls.

5. Put the spring mix into a bowl and toss with the croutons and a little vinaigrette. Divide this between the 4 bowls. Top with the crispy San Daniele ham and pistachios and serve.

Champagne vinaigrette

Makes ¾ cup

• ¼ cup Champagne vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• sea salt and pepper to taste

• 1 teaspoon chopped shallot

• ½ cup grapeseed oil

Put the first 4 ingredients in an old jam jar and give it a shake to blend. Add the oil and shake again. Taste for seasonings. Will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Radicchio and fennel salad on a flatbread

Makes 4

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• ½ cup water

• ½ head radicchio

• 1 fennel bulb

• ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• Balsamic vinaigrette, recipe follows

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. This is so easy I just do the whole thing by hand. Pour in the olive oil and water and mix together with a wooden spoon, then finish mixing the dough with your hands. The dough should come together nicely and be smooth and not too dry — if it is, just add a little more water or oil.

3. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Put two on one of the baking sheets and roll out the dough into ovals directly onto the pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat with two more balls of dough. (At this point, you may bake off the other 4 or refrigerate the dough and bake at another time.)

4. Slice the radicchio into thin strips and put into a bowl. Remove the fronds from the fennel, slice it into similar size strips and put these into the bowl. Put about a handful of fennel fronds in, too. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano and some of the Balsamic vinaigrette and toss. Put the flatbreads on a plate. Divide the salad between them, adding extra Parmigiano R. on top.

Balsamic vinaigrette

Makes ¾ cup

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot

• sea salt and pepper

• ½ cup olive oil

Put the balsamic vinegar, mustard, shallot, and a little sea salt and pepper in a jam jar. Give it a good shake, then let it rest for 15 minutes. Add the olive oil, shake again, and taste. Will keep in the fridge for a week.

Asparagus and avocado salad in a wrap

Makes 4

• 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• sea salt to taste

• 1 avocado

• 15 basil leaves

• 1 tablespoon minced shallot

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 sandwich wraps

1. Preheat oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Slice the asparagus into 2-inch pieces, put on the baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and sea salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Save time: Roast your asparagus in advance and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad.

3. Chop the avocado into 1/2-inch cubes and toss into the bowl with the asparagus.

4. Make the basil oil. Put the basil, shallot, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt in a food processor or blender and blend until combined. Drizzle some of this into the bowl with the avocado and asparagus and toss. Taste for seasonings. Divide the mixture between the 2 wraps, roll up and slice in half. I like to spoon a little more Basil oil on top.

Greek salad in a pita

Makes 4

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 English cucumber, diced

• 15 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

• 2 ounces feta, crumbled or cubed

• about 10 fresh mint leaves, chopped

• 20 fresh oregano leaves, left whole

• pink peppercorns, crushed with the back of your knife

• sea salt and pepper

• Red wine vinaigrette, recipe follows

• 2 pieces pita bread

1. Put the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, fresh mint, fresh oregano, and pink peppercorns in a large salad bowl. Add sea salt and pepper to taste, and a little vinaigrette — maybe a tablespoon or two. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.

2. I like to warm up my pita bread, but you don’t have to. If you want to warm it up, simply preheat the oven to 450°F or so and when it’s hot, put the whole pita directly onto the rack to warm through for a couple of minutes. Don’t leave it too long because you’re not going for crisp, just a little color on the outside. Slice the warm pita and open up the bread. Taste the salad before serving, adding a little more vinaigrette or additional sea salt and pepper if needed, and stuff the pockets. Serve right away.

Red wine vinaigrette

Makes ¾ cup

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon minced shallot

• sea salt and pepper to taste

• ½ cup olive oil

Put the first four ingredients in a jam jar and shake shake shake. Add the oil, shake again, and taste for seasonings. Refrigerate.

Ellise Pierce is the Cowgirl Chef and author of COWGIRL CHEF: Texas Cooking with a French Accent (Running Press). Read her blog (www.cowgirlchef.com), and follow her on Twitter (@cowgirlchef) and Instagram (cowgirlchef)

This story was originally published May 31, 2018 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Disguise the greens to beat boring salads this summer."