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Appetizer salads—this is a light first course designed to stimulate the appetite. The body
of this type of salad is greens in combination with other vegetables or fruit. The dressing is also
light and tart.
A standard green salad with a light vinaigrette dressing is typical for this use. A fruit
salad of tart fruits and a light, barely sweetened dressing is also appetite-stimulating. You may
add a little seafood, since it isn't filling in small doses. Nuts and cheese are heavier and you
should use them in small amounts. If you're disappointed in how your entrée turned out or there
isn't enough to go around in generous servings, add more calorie-rich food to your appetizer
salad to partially gratify, instead of just stimulate, the guests' appetites.
You may also use a light salad as cleansing the palate, an old French tradition. In this
case instead of a first course, offer it between two contrasting courses. The salad dressing
literally cleanses the taste buds to prepare them for the next movement in your symphony of the
meal. In this role, a salad should be especially light, usually nothing more than greens with a
touch of dressing and a hint of pepper, and in minuscule portions to satisfy but a small bird's
meal.
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Accompaniment salads—these can be heartier than appetizer salads since they
accompany the main dish and complement its flavor as well as satisfy appetites.
Marinated vegetables may also accompany the entrée and complement it. They go very
well with a heavy, somewhat fatty meal. A sour marinade aids the digestion of oil and butter-rich
foods. Remember how your stomach craves for pickle or sauerkraut to go with hamburger or a
Rueben sandwich?
A fruit compote is also a good example of an accompaniment salad. It goes well with
poultry or pork. Gelatin and aspic salads, although much less popular today than they used to be,
are perfect examples of accompaniment salads. With the generous amount of sugar and
marshmallow that were so common in the 1950s and 1960s, they could do double duty on the
menu—as salad and as dessert. But it is not fair to serve it as two different courses on the same
meal. Some might notice it.
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Main dish salads—these hearty salads can, and often do, take the place of the entrée.
Main dish salads can include anything edible. Start off with simple tossed greens and just keep
adding things. You traditionally serve these salads cold, but for improved flavor, serve them at
room temperature. Some you may even serve warm. Many bean salads, for example, are best
when served warm.
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Dessert salads—usually of sweet fruits or a mixture of sweet and tart fruits. Some cooks
like to add gelatin for a firmer consistency. Sweetened whipped cream or toasted nuts are
winning toppings. The expected presentation of dessert salads is chilled, even frozen, but their
flavor is far improved if you allow them to warm up to room temperature.
The dressing
Salad dressings are usually mixtures of an oil and a sour liquid, either vinegar or citrus
juice. The ratio of the two varies, depending on the cuisine and local and personal preference.
The traditional French ratio is four or five parts oil to one part vinegar. If you intend to use the
dressing as a marinade, the ratio is closer to one-to-one—much higher in acid since it is the acid
that works in the role of marinade.
Oil and vinegar don't intermingle with simple stirring like water and scotch do. When you
add vinegar to oil, the heavier vinegar sinks to the bottom and forms an individual layer, resting
snugly below the layer of lighter oil. When you shake the closed container vigorously, the oil
play © erdosh 12
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