Consider Salad Dressings as an Opportunity to Innovate
Fresh salads and salad bars are bigger than ever in American foodservice, and that's the good news. Unfortunately, it's the thick, goopy stuff that diners ladle on top that pushes a low-calorie, low-fat, high-fiber dish into the questionably healthful column.
Leverage the popularity of salads and leap over the competition by giving that health-conscious diner some good dressing options. Look to other cultures for inspiration. A few ideas from the global salad station:
- Salsa: Mexico's salsa cruda (chopped fresh tomato, onion, chiles, cilantro, and garlic) would make a zingy fat-free dressing for greens, green beans, or grilled zucchini.
- Olio-limone: Italy's all-purpose salad dressing—olive oil and lemon—can be whisked up ahead or presented as components for guests to blend. Offering a bottle of "house" olive oil with wedges of fresh-cut lemon, a pepper mill and a salt cellar would add style to your salad presentation.
- Yogurt-garlic dressing: Whisk yogurt with olive oil, minced garlic, and fresh dill or mint. This dressing from Greece and Turkey complements raw salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and cooked vegetables such as beet greens, carrots, cauliflower, and green beans. Also good on grilled fish, chicken and lamb, and grain salads.
- Tahini cream: The basic dressing of the Middle East is tahini thinned with lemon juice and water, then seasoned with chopped garlic and cilantro or parsley. Excellent on greens (cooked or raw), zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, and leeks.
- Picadilla: From Penelope Casas's The Foods and Wines of Spain comes this dressing for greens made by puréeing blanched almonds with olive oil, garlic, wine vinegar, and lemon juice.
- Nuoc cham: Vietnam's ubiquitous clear dipping sauce—water, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic, and chiles—can dress cooked vegetables or raw greens, cabbage, carrots, and jicama.
