Green, simple and mixed salads remain a standard on menus, and the classic entrée salads have morphed into appealing combinations of local, regional and seasonal ingredients, and globally inspired flavors. As Americans try to eat more healthfully and want more fresh ingredients, salads play an even more prominent role as entrées.
The image of salads as rabbit food on menus has been replaced with an expectation of satisfying flavors, colors, textures and temperatures. People who dine in my restaurant, Chef Allen’s in Aventura, FL, are ordering more salads, whether a bistro salad with beets and arugula, or a marinated steak and mango salad. In the retail setting, the prepared salad entrée movement is the opposite of the microwave- and frozen-meal movement, with salad entrées being offered at convenience and drug stores, in addition to more traditional retail outlets selling food for at-home consumption.
Choosing greens
For the base, heads of iceberg lettuce have been supplemented with a variety of leafy, non-bitter lettuce varieties, such as loose-leaf, butter, romaine and crisphead, and a civilized dose of bitterness from chicories and endives that patrons are eager to try. The subcategory of microgreens is also growing. These are the leaves and stems of specific types of plants, such as arugula, celery, radish, fennel, spinach, kale and others that are specially grown and harvested shortly after sprouting.
Production and service protocols should drive your selections. For example, sturdy greens like spinach, cabbage and escarole stand up to the rigors of salad bars and banquet service. Cleaned, micro versions of heartier greens save time and add value. Microgreens and herb mixes are delicate and flavor-forward. Micro celery is one of my current favorites.
Whether at foodservice or retail, salads offer something for consumers from all walks of life, and they are a cost-effective way to differentiate your offering with trendy, ethnic and local flavor profiles. Crisp, succulent and wilt-resistant crisphead lettuce varieties, such as iceberg, Imperial, Great Lakes, Vanguard and Western, have long been popular beds for seafood and cold meat salads. Today, there is renewed interest in serving head lettuce—from local farmers, if practical—that’s smothered in, and surrounded by, new ingredients. For example, a butter lettuce wedge salad with pancetta, avocado, blue cheese and cava vinaigrette can be enjoyed as a satisfying light entrée.
Ethnic meets traditional
Mediterranean cuisines continue to be popular, as does an interpretation of the classic tuna niçoise salad: tomatoes, black olives, garlic and anchovies, in addition to French green beans, onions, tuna, hard-cooked eggs and herbs. It works equally well on chain, fine-dining and college menus by simply altering the ingredients to fit the format. One option might feature seared fresh tuna, mixed greens, new potatoes, green beans, tomato and olives, while another could have grilled salmon on baby spinach, green beans, new potatoes and red onion.
Some fine-dining chefs are finding that interest in Caesar salad is waning, but the opportunity to successfully menu it is still strong in casual-dining and quick-service restaurants. Caesar salad can be easily sold as a to-go salad entrée and topped with grilled chicken, steak, salmon or shrimp. A Caesar can take a Mexican spin by replacing croutons with tortilla strips and swapping Cotija cheese for the Parmesan.
When it arrived on the culinary scene, the Chinese chicken salad was quite different compared to other entrée salads. It was one of the first highly textured salads that achieved widespread popularity in the United States.