10 Delicious Easy Salad Recipe

Here is your chance to really arouse your family's enthusiasm in the meals you serve. There are wonderful colors you can choose for a salad, there are scores of nutritious foods. But the real secret of your salad success is in the tongue of those tempting salad dressings.
Your choice of ingredients, of course, will depend upon whether the salad is to be simply an appetizer or the main basis of your meal. For either purpose, meats, fish, fowl, cooked and uncooked vegetables, as well as fruits and nuts, offer a wide variety of salad ingredients.


1. Shrimp Remolade (Serves 4)

• 2 hard cooked eggs  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 
• 1/4 cup Planters Peanut Oil 
• 2 tablespoons taragon vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon sour pickle, chopped 
• 1 tabiespoon parsley, chopped 
• 4 drops Tabasco sauce 
• 1 pound cooked, shelled and veined shrimp 
• Shredded lettuce or endive 

Remove yolks from hard cooked eggs and rub through a fine sieve. Save egg whites for garnish. Place in a pint jar and add all remaining ingredients except shrimp. Cover jar tightly and shake vigorously until thoroughly blended and slightly thickened. Chill well and shake again before using. Pour sauce over prepared shrimp. Toss gently to thoroughly coat shrimp. Serve on shredded lettuce or endive and garnish with finely chopped egg whites.


2. Cabbage and Peanut Salad (Serves 6)

• Large whole cabbage 
• 3 cups cabbage, shredded 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika 
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 3/4 cup Planters Peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup cream ot evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup Planters Mayonnaise 
• Red and green pepper rings 
• Whole cloves 

Make a cabbage salad bowl by cutting out the center part of cabbage leaving a shell about the thickness of three or four leaves. Cut the top edge in points and pin back with whole cloves. Take cabbage from inside head and shred or chop. Combine cabbage, salt, paprika, lemon juice and Planters Peanuts. Mix together cream and mayonnaise made with Planters Peanut Oil. Add to cabbage and chill well. Serve in cabbage salad bowl. Garnish with red and green pepper rings.


3. Minted Pear Salad ( Serves 6)

• 6 large halves of canned pears 
• Pear juice 
• Mint flavoring to taste 
• Few drops of green food coloring
• 1/2 cup Planters Fruit Salad Dressing 
• l/2 cup candied ginger, sliced 
• Mint leaves 
• Lettuce

To the juice from the canned pears add enough mint flavoring to produce a delicate mint flavor and enough green food coloring to obtain a light green color. Pour this over the pear halves and chill thoroughly. Drain well and place pear halves on crisp lettuce cups. Fill pear cavities with Planters Fruit Salad Dressing made with Planters Peanut Oil. Garnish with sliced candied ginger and mint leaves.


4. Banana and Peanut Salad ( Serves 4-6)

• 3 medium-size bananas, sliced 
• 1 tablespoon lemon j uice 
• 10 marshmallows, cut in pieces 
• 1/2 cup Planters Peanuts, chopped 
• 1/2 cup Planters Mayonnaise 
• Planters Peanuts, whole

Stir all ingredients until j ust mixed. Place in salad bowl and garnish top with a ring of overlapping banana slices, first dipped in lemon j uice, a second ring of quartered marshmallows and fill center with whole peanuts.


5. Stuffed Tomato Salad (Serves 6)

• 6 large firm tomatoes 
• 1 cup apple, diced 
• 1 cup celery, diced 
• 1/2 cup Planters Mayonnaise 
• 1 bottle anchovies 
• Endive

Peel tomatoes and scoop out center to make a cup. Toss together the apple, celery and mayonnaise made with Planters Peanut Oil. Save six anchovies for garnish. Add remainder cut in pieces to the salad mixture. Fill tomato cups with the salad and cop each with a whole anchovy. Serve on a bed of curly endive.


6. Stuffed Green Pepper Salad (Serves 6)

• 2 large green peppers 
• 2 packages cream cheese 
• 4 tablespoons pimiento, chopped 
• 4 tablespoons green pepper, chopped 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• Lettuce

Cut off tops of green peppers and scoop out seeds and membrane. Remove stem and chop the tops for stuffing. Beat together cheese, pimiento, chopped green pepper and salt. Fill peppers with mixture and chill thoroughly. Then slice peppers fairly thin and arrange on bed of cold, crisp lettuce. Accompany with Planters Mayonnaise or Planters French Dressing made with Planters Peanut Oil.


7. Potato Salad Supreme (Serves 6)

• 3 cups boiled potatoes, diced 
• 3 hard cooked eggs, diced 
• 1 cup cucumber or celery, diced 
• 1 tablespoon onion, minced 
• 4 sweet pickles, diced 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon vinegar 
• 3/4 cup Planters Mayonnaise 
• Parsley 
• Ripe olives 
• Lettuce

Toss all the ingredients together lightly. Chill well. Serve in salad bowl lined with crisp lettuce leaves and garnish with ripe olives and sprays of parsley.


8. Cheese and Kidney Bean Salad (Serves 4-6)

• 2 cups drained cooked red kidney beans 
• 1 cup American cheese, diced 
• 1/2 cup gherkin pickles, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup celery, diced 
• 1/3 cup Planters Mayonnaise 
• Parsley 
• Lettuce 

Mix lightly all ingredients in order given. Serve on bed of crisp shredded lettuce and garnish with sprays of fresh parsley stuck into small cheese cubes.


9. Tuna and Apple Salad (Serves 4-6)

• 1 seven ounce can Tuna fish 
• 2 red apples 
• 1 yellow apple 
• 1 cup celery, diced 
• 2 tablespoons green pepper, minced 
• 1/2 cup Planters Thick French Dressing 
• Green pepper 
• Watercress 

Flake Tuna into bowl. Dice unpeeled apples and add with rest of ingredients. Toss together lightly. Place in salad bowl lined with watercress. Garnish with red and yellow apple wedges in rings of green pepper.


10. Carrot F ruit Salad (Serves 4·6 )

• 1 cup pineapple j uice 
• 1 package orange flavored gelatin 
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• l/2 cup orange juice 
• 2 cups grated raw carrots 
• 1/2 cup orange sections 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• Lettuce 
• Ripe olives

Heat pineapple juice and pour over gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Add lemon and orange juice. Chill until mixture begins to congeal. Fold in carrots, orange sections and salt. Pour into mold and chill until firm. Turn onto chilled platter. Garnish with lettuce and ripe olives. Serve with Planters Mayonnaise made with Planters Peanut Oil.

A Bowl of Vinegary Cucumbers

Every summer, we keep a bowl of this salad in the fridge, replenishing it as it runs low. Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
3 to 4 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, sliced into very thin rounds and broken into rings
3⁄4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. Place the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl; pour in the vinegar, then fi  ll the bowl with cool water until the vegetables are submerged. Stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 2 weeks. Drain the cucumbers and onions with a slotted spoon when serving.
3. Variations: Add 1 seeded and chopped pickled or fresh jalapeño chile with the onion. Add 1 tablespoon dried dill, 1 tablespoon chopped chives, or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the sugar.
4. Add 6 whole cloves, 6 crushed juniper berries, or 4 crushed allspice berries with the sugar. (Do not eat these with the cucumbers and onions.)

Thirty Best Salad Dressings Recipe

Here’s a list of thirty dressings, simple to complex, spiky to creamy. It’s a mix-and-match affair with the greens you choose, but we offer suggestions. Each recipe makes enough for a four-serving salad. Double, triple, or quadruple at will. Keep the extra dressing sealed in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; the clotted oil will reliquefy as the dressing comes back to room temperature.

To make any of these vinaigrettes: Whisk everything except the oil in a small bowl, then slowly whisk in the oil until opaque and emulsified.

Classic Vinaigrettes
All made with olive oil, these are good for light salads, bitter greens, fresh fruit, sliced tomatoes, or steamed vegetables. Y ou can also toss them on a light, crisp potato salad.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sherry Vinaigrette
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1⁄2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon stemmed thyme or
1⁄8 teaspoon
dried thyme
1⁄3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted poppy seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Fruit Vinaigrettes
These are sweeter, a better foil to more assertive flavors. Avoid sweet fruit accents and go for sugar snap peas, green beans, asparagus, nuts, or croutons with these dressings.

Orange Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup canola oil

Apple Caraway Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup canola oil

Raspberry Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄3 cup grapeseed or walnut oil

Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced tarragon leaves or
1⁄2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄3 cup olive oil

Mint Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, minced
1⁄4 cup chopped mint leaves
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup olive oil

Creamy Vinaigrettes
These dressings are good drizzled on iceberg wedges or tossed in fairly assertive salads with endive or radicchio in the mix. The dressings also work exceptionally well with main-course salads, since the creaminess complements any protein in the salad.

Mustard Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, minced
1⁄2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1⁄3 cup olive oil

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄3 cup olive or mustard seed oil

Classic French Bistro Vinaigrette
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large egg yolk, preferably a pasteurized yolk, at room temperature
1 1⁄2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup olive oil

Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1⁄2 tablespoon tahini
1⁄2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1⁄2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup olive oil

Herb Vinaigrettes
These work on summery green salads, accented with fruits and toasted nuts. They are also good with pasta and vegetable salads.

Basil Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon minced basil leaves
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄8 teaspoon sugar
1⁄3 cup olive oil

Asian Vinaigrettes
These pair well with strong greens and sweet vegetables like a mix of shredded carrot and chopped endive or cubed apple and chopped romaine. They’re also good drizzled on grilled fi  sh or steamed Brussels sprouts as a “fi  nishing sauce.”

Ponzu Vinaigrette
2 1⁄2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons peanut oil

Sesame Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1⁄2 teaspoon soy sauce
1⁄4 cup peanut oil

Lime Ginger Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons lime juice
1⁄2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup olive oil

Spicy Asian Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon soy sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon chili oil
1⁄4 cup peanut oil

Unusual Vinaigrettes
These easily overpower delicate, summery greens, sweet fruits, or ripe tomatoes. Try them with very assertive salad mixes as well as drizzled on wilted spinach, turnip greens, or roasted root vegetables. Toasted walnut oil, used in the fi  rst dressing, has a much more pronounced taste than regular walnut oil and should be used sparingly.

Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon fi  nely grated lemon zest
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1⁄2 tablespoons toasted walnut oil
1⁄4 cup canola oil

Coffee Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄3 cup walnut oil

Saffron Vinaigrette
1 1⁄2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fi  nely grated orange zest
1⁄8 teaspoon saffron threads, dissolved in
2 teaspoons hot water for 5 minutes
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄3 cup olive oil

Chipotle Vinaigrette
1 chipotle in adobo, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup peanut oil

Creamy Dressings
To make any of these more substantial dressings, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl; they can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. For those dressings that use mayonnaise, consider making your own (see page 121).

Butter Dressing
Best on light, summery greens mixed with raw or steamed vegetables
4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon stemmed thyme
1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Mayonnaise Dill Dressing
Best on crunchy greens as well as in potato salads, pasta salads, and on poached salmon
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped dill fronds
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Thousand Island Dressing
Best as the classic: on iceberg wedges or as a dip for vegetables
1 small scallion, minced
1⁄4 cup mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, orfat-free)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1⁄2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Hot red pepper sauce to taste

Green Goddess Dressing
Best on chopped, crunchy salads with strong, slightly bitter greens
2 anchovy fi  llets, minced
1 small scallion, minced
6 tablespoons mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
2 tablespoons sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced dill fronds
1 tablespoon minced basil leaves
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
A few dashes of hot red pepper sauce to taste

Creamy Curry Dressing
Best with a well-stocked green salad with lots of raw or steamed vegetables among the greens
1 garlic clove, crushed
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Buttermilk Dressing
Best on summery, light greens, such as Bibb lettuce, mixed with some chopped fresh herbs and fresh fruit
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons buttermilk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
3 tablespoons sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
2 teaspoons stemmed thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A few dashes of hot red pepper sauce to taste

Blue Cheese Dressing
Excellent with almost any match of greens and great on pasta or potato salads 1 small shallot, minced
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
1⁄4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

The Five Steps for Working with Greens

• Trim. If there’s a base knot or root base to the head, trim it off to let the leaves fl  op free; remove and discard any discolored or tough outer leaves. Cut out any long, fi  brous stems.

• Wash. Fill a cleaned sink with cool water, then plunge the trimmed greens into it. Soak for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, to let any sand or grit fall to the bottom of the sink. Remove carefully without draining the water, washing off individual leaves if still dirty. Once all the greens are out of the sink, drain the water and wash away the grit.

• Dry. Take them for a whirl in a salad spinner or gently dab them dry between generous layers of paper towels.

• Store. Roll the leaves between dry paper towels and store in a sealed plastic bag with a few holes poked in it at room temperature for up to 6 hours or in the crisper for up to 4 days.

• Chop. Tear leafy greens by hand; chop others with a chef’s knife into bite-sized chunks.