Salad Days Are Here Again
from MALIBU MONTHLY MAGAZINE – February/March 2005 Issue

When Cleopatra spoke to Julius Caesar of her “...salad days, when I was green in judgment” in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, she was referring to an era of youthful inexperience and indiscretions.  In a sense, the salad days of spring offer atonement for winter’s excesses and indiscretions – an opportunity to revel in spring’s bounty and shed winter’s pounds.

Almost any food can be made into a salad — raw and cooked vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, cheeses, grains, legumes, or breads — and combined with a sauce or dressing that best complements the creation.  Salads have long been a staple in the traditions of Mediterranean cuisines.  The word salad, in fact, comes from the Latin salada, meaning salted, and it refers to the savory sauces with which salads are typically dressed — often a simple concoction of lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  I personally love the simplicity of a few distinct flavors, so my preference runs toward a small number of exquisite ingredients, creatively combined, rather than the “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” school of thinking.

To create your own chef d’oeuvre, choose three or four foods that go well together, e.g. slices of bufala mozzarella, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts, arranged on a bed of fresh organic greens, garnished with lots of julienned basil and drizzled with a garlicky vinaigrette dressing (basic recipe, right). Hearty, main-course salads might consist of a combination of fresh organic greens and a couple of grilled vegetables (try grilled beets or mushrooms in a balsamic marinade), and then topped with grilled fish or meat, slices of chèvre or hard-boiled eggs.

For a salad of cooked vegetables, rice or pasta, combine the cooked ingredients with the dressing while still warm to ensure a successful marriage of flavors. Experiment with different colors, flavors and textures – perhaps spicing up a green salad with a handful of arugula, some slices of sweet orange and a dash of kelp flakes (available in Asian markets). For a completely raw experience, combine a variety of shredded raw vegetables, such as carrots, beets, squash or daikon radish, top them with sprouts and soaked almonds (soak in filtered water for 4 hours) and dress them in a light lemony marinade.   

Remember that the secret to any successful meal is to begin with fresh, high quality ingredients. Less is more, meaning that condiments or strongly flavored ingredients should be used sparingly so that you can savor the effects as you go along — toning down a flavor that has been overdone is a challenge. Fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, basil, dill or tarragon will give your salad a dash of pizzazz . . . and please don’t insult your perfect creation with a glob of store-bought dressing.

An ideal meal offers something for everyone and, for me, a salad is one of those meals. I feel blessed to have grown up in a rural community in Switzerland, where our family’s huge vegetable garden provided us with an endless variety of fresh, homegrown foods. Salads were part of our daily fare, and I cannot imagine not eating a salad at least once a day. Putting together a salad is not only an opportunity to eat a light, wholesome meal, but a marvelous way to enjoy many of my favorite foods (but perhaps I’ll save the chocolate for dessert).

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The word salad, in fact, comes from the Latin salada, meaning salted, and it refers to the savory sauces with which salads are typically dressed.

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