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Tomato Fever!
Keep your ideas fresh with cold meals!
The Versatile Tomato!

Crisp or tender, salads bring a symphony of summer flavours to the table, from sweet and subtle to tart and sharp. Explore a world of salad possibilities with various greens, unusual dressings and assorted extras that add colour and taste pizzazz. Try new ready-in-a-flash recipes. Jazz up your summer with salads!

Sumptuous Summer Salads
  • Honey-Dressed Chicory and Endives
  • Red and Green Salad
  • Smoked Salmon Mesclun Salad
  • Fruity Spinach Salad
Gorgeous Greens
  • For really original salads, give your imagination free rein with the season's ever-changing offerings.
  • Try new and different greens in novel combinations.
  • Boost the nutritional value of salads with raw, grilled or blanched vegetables: green beans, snow peas, mushrooms, baby corn, sweet peppers of all colours—the possibilities are endless!
  • Punch up the flavour of salads with a little garlic, some raisins, walnuts or cashews, croutons, diced cheese, cubed fruit, sesame seeds or ground flax seeds, or a spoonful of pesto.
  • Enhance the beauty of greens with vividly coloured ingredients and their with fresh herbs like tarragon, thyme, basil or chives.
  • A salad isn't complete without its dressing, but once again myriad variations are possible: olive or sesame oil; wine, cider, rice, balsamic or fruit vinegar; cream, yogurt or lemon. After all variety is the spice of life!
Salads Make the Meal
  • Salads can be light or substantial. Colourful, flavourful and adaptable, salads are equally superb in a supporting role, playing up the flavour of grilled meat or fish, or as the main course star of the show.
  • A mixed salad such as a Caesar, warm creamy goat cheese on a bed of mesclun, or watercress with melon, lamb's lettuce and bean sprouts with a sesame dressing makes a delicious first course.
  • A quick and easy meal solution for the dog days of summer is a hearty salad made with whatever is on hand—spinach salad with turkey; shrimp salad with bacon and tomatoes, chick pea salad with baby vegetables or egg and salmon salad.
  • A small tossed salad of various greens makes a tasty bridge between the main course and the dessert or cheese course.
  • For exotic flair, try salads from around the world: Thai grilled beef salad, Mexican shrimp salad or Greek salad with feta.
  • With salads, there are no rules. Anything goes!
Tasty Tips
  • Washed greens have to be spun or patted dry so that the dressing sticks to them rather than pooling in the bottom of the bowl.
  • Greens are fragile. Dress them just before serving to preserve their crisp texture.
  • To revive slightly wilted greens, immerse them in lukewarm water for a few minutes then rinse them under cold running water.
  • Already washed and cut, packaged mixed greens are easy and convenient when you don't want to buy several different kinds of greens just to make a single salad.
  • Always have a few commercial or homemade sauces or dressings on hand.
  • Canned beans (lentils, chick peas, kidney beans, black beans) can be turned into a hearty salad in a flash.
  • Simply rinse under cold running water and combine with other ingredients.
  Flavour Combinations Note
Watercress Intense, fresh and zesty, bright green Romaine, leaf or Boston lettuce, Belgian endive, chicory Can be shredded and used as a herb, decorative
Belgian endive Crisp, slightly bitter Boston or romaine lettuce, arugula, radicchio, watercress Serve with hot sauces: mustard and yogurt or horseradish, curry
Spinach Pungent and tart Radicchio, romaine, leaf or Boston lettuce Good with almonds and cashews, fruit and fruity dressings
Boston Buttery, mild and sweet Leaf lettuce, Belgian endive, chicory, spinach, arugula, watercress, lamb's lettuce Serve with mild dressings, olive oil, fruit vinegar, lemon juice
Leaf lettuce Subtly nutty, slightly peppery, soft-textured Boston or iceberg lettuce, arugula, chicory, watercress, radicchio, lamb's lettuce Large leaves are perfect bed for other ingredients
Romaine Hint of anis nutty scent, crisp Arugula, spinach, Belgian endive, watercress, radicchio Good with croutons, bacon or cracklings, Parmesan, mustard
Lamb's lettuce (Mâche) Mild nutty flavour, delicate leaves Boston or leaf lettuce, baby spinach or romaine Serve with mild dressings or cream and salt
Mesclun Bitter, tart and sweet mix of oak leaf lettuce, chicory, arugula, spinach or other greens Leaf lettuce, radicchio Also know as Spring mix, adds colourful, polished touch
Radicchio Slightly bitter and peppery, firm leaves Leaf or romaine lettuce, spinach, Belgian endive, chicory, escarole, arugula Curved leaves make a shell for topping
Arugula Pungent, peppery, a little spicy Boston, leaf or romaine lettuce, radicchio, chicory, Belgian endive Serve with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar dressings and Parmesan


Salads at a Glance

The table below lays out 4 simple 3-step recipes. To make basic dressing, whisk 1 tsp. (5 mL) Dijon mustard, 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) red wine vinegar, 1 pinch of sugar, 1 garlic clove, minced, with 1/4 cup. (60 mL) oil and salt and pepper to taste. For salad-appropriate dressings, add the step-2 ingredients.

  Step 1
In a salad bow, combine		 Step 2
To basic dressing, add:		 Step 3
To turn the salad into a meal, add:
Antipasto salad • 4 cups (1 L) Italian mixed greens (romaine, radicchio, Belgian endives)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 jar artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) black olives, sliced		 • 3 Tbsp. (45 mL) chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. (5 mL) dried oregano		 • 1/2 lb. (225 g) salami slices, folded in 4
OR
1 can chick peas, drained
Fruity spinach salad • 4 cups (1 L) baby spinach
• 1 can mandarins, drained
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 red onion, sliced, rings separated		 Replace red wine vinegar with:
• 3 Tbsp. (45 mL) raspberry vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) ground ginger		 • 2 cups (500 mL) diced cooked chicken or smoked turkey breast
Mexican salad • 4 cups (1 L) mixed greens (mesclun)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 can kernel corn, drained
• 1/2 red onion, cut into thin strips		 • 3 Tbsp. (45 mL) chopped fresh coriander
• 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) chili powder		 • 1 can black turtle beans, rinsed and drained
Oriental salad • 2 cups (500 mL) each: iceberg lettuce and red leaf lettuce
• 1 cup (250 mL) bean sprouts
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) snow peas
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated carrots
• 4 green onions, sliced diagonally		 • 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) soya or teriyaki sauce
• 1 tsp. (5 mL) sesame oil		 • 2 cups (500 mL) grilled steak or roast beef strips