I am in need of suggestions for a salad to bring to my book club. The hostess asked for a salad without cheese. She is making a curried chicken salad. She wants something that those who don’t want bread can put the chicken salad on top of. I’m blanking beyond a simple salad of just mixed greens with a simple vinegarette.
Please share what salads you have been enjoying this time of the year.
It wouldn’t work if you are talking about chicken salad with mayo, but I make an Asian salad with coleslaw mix, scallions, almonds, ramen noodles, etc. I’ve often thought it would be good to put chicken on top of it. PM me if you want the recipe. It’s very easy to make.
I’m assuming she is making a chicken salad with a curried mayo.
I might make a salad with spring greens, strawberries, sliced red onions, sliced almonds, balsamic vinegarette and serve the chicken salad on the side.
Do you really need a composed salad? I’ve most often seen curried chicken salad served in lettuce cups or alonside lettuce wraps made out out of sturdy or cup-shaped lettuce leaves (Something like butter lettuce, romaine, or even iceberg). I think the flavors in a dressed composed salad could easily clash.
That’s quite an assignment! Have you considered a rice “salad”? Rice with some veggies and a light vinagrette to hold it together. Otherwise, I’m with you - mixed greens!
Baby spinach leaves, toasted sliced almonds, sliced strawberries, thinly sliced green onion. Toss before serving with raspberry vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing. Easy and everyone always likes it. Would go well with chicken salad.
Make a salad that you like that would stand well on it’s own. Who cares about curried chicken salad sitting on it? (I’m not crazy about curry…) You could make a panzanella salad with chunks of tomato, cucumber, and dense bread (thrown in last) with a vinaigrette, or any number of interesting salads.
I have a cookbook called “salad for dinner” that I love.
In my book club the host provides a main course and someone offers to bring appetizer, salad or a dessert. Normally the salad would be whatever the person bringing it feels like making. I think she will be happy with whatever I bring but asked if I could bring something to complement the chicken salad. In 25 yrs with these women this is the first request to not just bring whatever I want. I also think it’s the first time someone has made chicken salad.
I like both Dentmom and doschico suggestion of a salad with almonds and a summer fruit.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2015/08/fresh-corn-tomato-avocado-and-basil-salad-recipe/ This is what I had planned to make. It’s delicious.
@mom60 That’s almost exactly like a salad I make regularly during summer. Summer corn is so awesome I love to use it everywhere. Except instead of basil I use either baby arugula or baby spinach, and for your purposes those might work better as you can increase the greens proportion without overwhelming the other ingredients as would happen with too much basil.
In addition to the red wine vinaigrette I like to sprinkle just a touch of cumin and coriander for depth, which should help complement the curry chicken salad. The corn I microwave, about 2:30 for each ear individually in my microwave - just enough so it’s cooked but still has a nice crunch. My D and W like to top the salad on their plates with a poached egg (actually I sous vide the eggs) and call it a meal.
Yum, that sounds so good!!
My dependable pot-luck dish is tabouleh salad.
Ina Garten’s Warm Butternut Squash Salad. Delicious! Just leave out the Parmesan. You can find it on the Food Network site.
@anomander - thanks for the good ideas. I like to take recipes and vary them depending on what is in season or what ingredients my family likes.
Emilyspinach- I like a lot of the Barefoot Contessa recipes. I haven’t tried that one.
I think for tonight I’m going to go with mixed greens. I have a ripe mango so I think I’ll make a salad dressing with that. I think I’ll use cashews, Persian cucumbers and maybe green onions or cilantro. Not sure if I’ll make the dressing spicy or not. Maybe toss on some dried cranberries. The hostess told me she has ripe avocado and garden tomatoes so I can add those at her house.