Photo: Kowalski’s Markets
The formula for a great salad comes down to just two things: texture and flavor, specifically the proper balancing of each. Crunchy, creamy and crispy, I always say, is the formula for superior salad. Same for taste. You need sweet, salty and sour, at a minimum, to balance your bowl. (Bonus points for spicy and savory!)
I call one of my favorite salads the Rainbow Salad—crispy greens meet creamy avocado, crunchy peppers, cabbage and carrots; blue cheese brings sour, salty notes to balance the sweetness of tomatoes and topped off with fresh honey French dressing. I like to add the spicy bite of radishes and peppers.
Rainbow Salad
Serves 4
- 4 oz. salad greens, such as romaine lettuce, baby kale, baby spinach, baby gem or butter lettuce or a combination
- ¼ cup (more or less to taste) fresh honey French dressing, plus more for serving
- ½ pint red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup matchstick-cut carrots
- ½ yellow bell pepper, cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 small avocado, sliced
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 cup purple cabbage, sliced
- 2 radishes, very thinly sliced
- freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste
Chop greens, and wash in ice-cold water; drain thoroughly in a salad spinner until very dry. In a large salad or mixing bowl, toss greens with dressing to taste. Arrange dressed greens on a serving platter or shallow rimmed serving bowl. Top greens with tomatoes, carrot, bell pepper, avocado, cheese, cabbage and radishes in curved strips or wedges over the greens. Drizzle with additional dressing to taste and/or serve with additional dressing on the side. Serve with black pepper to taste.
Rachael Perron is the culinary and branding director for Kowalski’s Markets, where she specializes in product development and selection, culinary education and communications. Taste more at kowalskis.com.
