Put zing into your springtime salads with fruit

Tag : Mulberry Fruit
I’m sure you already do put fruits in your salads, maybewithout realizing it. Remember your last one with tomatoes,cucumbers, and peppers? All of those traditional salad“vegetables” are technically fruit!

In Webster’s dictionary, the botanical definition of fruitincludes peas, nuts, tomatoes, pineapples, and the edible part of aflowering plant such as peach, mulberry, bananas, etc. Those arethe only ones mentioned, but you get the idea. It would seem thatthe list of fruits contains all sorts of edibles from apples tozucchini. Wow! That’s quite a range!

But when I’m talking about adding a little “zing”to a salad, I’m talking about tossing in fruits such asapples, pears, oranges, pineapple or grapes to put serendipity intoan otherwise mundane salad. Nuts are also fun to add to give realcrunch; did you know most nuts, too, are fruits? Try tossingslivered almonds or chopped walnuts into almost any salad to makeit more add interesting.
In addition, the nutritionists and dietitians are recommending adiet lush with fruits and vegetables, at least 5 servings a day. Soadding non-traditional stuff can turn an ordinary salad into anutritional powerhouse.

So rethink your spring salads. Here are some of my favorite recipesto give you a start. Garnish any of these salads with small bunchesof fresh grapes for extra flavor and eye appeal.

Carrot Salad with Grapes and Ginger

1 pound baby carrots, halved lengthwise

4 ounces green grapes, halved

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon or Creole mustard

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger

Salt to taste

Salad greens

Additional minced crystallized ginger for garnish

Cook the carrot halves in 1/4 cup water until crisp-tender. Drain.Transfer to a bowl. Mix together the oil, honey, mustard, vinegar,ginger, and salt. Pour over carrots in bowl. Toss to coat. Coverand refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Fold in grape halves.

Line a salad bowl or individual bowls or plates with salad greens.Spoon carrots and grapes on lettuce. Garnish with additional mincedcrystallized ginger. Makes 6 servings.

Pea and Bean Salad with Spinach and Raspberries

1/4 pound snow peas

1/4 pound frozen lima beans, thawed

3 cups loosely packed baby spinach

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

3 teaspoons wine vinegar

5 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut stems from snow peas and wash. Cook peas and limas separatelyin water until tender-crisp. Drain and cool in refrigerator untilready to use.

Mix together the vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepperto taste.

Just before serving, gently toss snow peas, beans, and raspberrieswith the spinach. Drizzle with dressing just before serving, andtoss again.

Makes 6 servings.

Cole Slaw with Pineapple

Use pineapple chunks for a contrast in texture

1/2 large head cabbage, shredded

1 can pineapple chunks, drained, or 1 fresh pineapple, pared cored,and cut into chunks

1 cup dairy sour cream

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons juice from pineapple

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Toss together the cabbage and pineapple chunks.

Cream the sour cream with the vinegar and pineapple juice. Stir inthe sugar and salt. Spoon onto cabbage mixture; toss. Serves 8.

Spinach Salad with Oranges and Bacon

8 slices bacon

1 1/2 quarts loosely packed spinach leaves

1 large or 2 small cans Mandarin orange sections, drained (savesyrup) OR 3 naval oranges

1 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil, OR 3 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon bacondrippings

1/2 cup syrup from oranges or orange juice

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard

Sauté bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spatula anddrain on paper towels. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon fat, if desired(for a stronger bacon flavor). Crumble bacon. Wash spinach and tearinto bite-sized pieces or use baby spinach leaves.

Combine vinegar, oil, bacon drippings (if used), syrup, honey andmustard in a jar with a tightly fitting lid. Shake thoroughly.Store in refrigerator until ready to use; shake before using.

Gently toss spinach with dressing. Add mandarin orange sections,and toss again. Top with crumbles bacon and toss lightly. Serves 6.

NOTE: To use fresh oranges, peel. Scrape off as much as the whitepith as possible. Holding the orange over a bowl, use a sharp knifeto separate the membrane from the sections. Flip the sections intothe bowl and halve. Make up any difference in required juice, useregular orange juice.

Caesar Salad with Grapes

This has a cooked egg dressing

1 cup water

2 eggs

1/2 cup vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Salt to taste

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

Additional vinegar and water, if required

1 head bib lettuce

1/2 head iceberg lettuce

1 cup seasoned croutons

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 halved green grapes

Make dressing in advance so it has time to cool before using.Combine the water, eggs, vinegar, mustard, salt, cornstarch andsugar in blender container. Blend on High until thoroughlycombined. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat,stirring frequently, until thickened.

If dressing is too thick, thin to desired consistency with equalparts vinegar and water. For sweeter dressing, add sugar, ateaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition until of preferredsweetness. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine lettuce, croutons, blue cheese, and grapes and toss withdressing just before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Mammy’s Main-Dish Chicken Salad

Just add crispy French bread

8 chicken breasts, boiled and deboned

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 can sliced water chestnuts, slivered

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise to mix

Coarsely chop chicken breasts. Add all other ingredients, mixingwith just enough mayonnaise to moisten and hold together. Serve ona platter of greens.

Makes 8 to 10 main dish servings.