Chop all of your fresh fruits and veggies. Consider assembling mise en place - where you put all your ingredients in one place to see if they work together, as well as to make the final assembly easy.
This is merely a template. You can use all or some of the suggested ingredients. Try to pick out the freshest ingredients. Go ahead buy what's on sale, buy what's in season!
Cover sliced onions (red, yellow, shallots) with water and allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare your salad. That will take some of the potency away from the onions. Drain them well before adding to salad.
Place your greens in a large bowl. Do not pour the dressing over the greens directly, that might ruin and wilt them. Pour a small amount of dressing on the bottom of a very large bowl and toss the greens gently with your clean hands until every leaf is coated with the dressing, but not swimming in it (do not overdress.) Season with salt and pepper. Transfer your greens to a large platter.
Combine your veggies, fruit and drained onions in now empty bowl and toss with a bit of dressing. Again, to coat them well but not overdress. Season with salt and pepper. Place the veggies and fruits into the platter on top of your greens.
Last arrange protein, avocado, roasted veggies, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and cheese on top of your salad. Serve immediately.
NOTE: for quick homemade salads I simply slice watery veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers. However, for large crowds, professional results or salads that are served at a dinner party where they may sit for some time - remove the seeds from the cucumbers and tomatoes with a spoon (to prevent the salad from getting too soggy.)
Ingredients
Directions
Chop all of your fresh fruits and veggies. Consider assembling mise en place - where you put all your ingredients in one place to see if they work together, as well as to make the final assembly easy.
This is merely a template. You can use all or some of the suggested ingredients. Try to pick out the freshest ingredients. Go ahead buy what's on sale, buy what's in season!
Cover sliced onions (red, yellow, shallots) with water and allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare your salad. That will take some of the potency away from the onions. Drain them well before adding to salad.
Place your greens in a large bowl. Do not pour the dressing over the greens directly, that might ruin and wilt them. Pour a small amount of dressing on the bottom of a very large bowl and toss the greens gently with your clean hands until every leaf is coated with the dressing, but not swimming in it (do not overdress.) Season with salt and pepper. Transfer your greens to a large platter.
Combine your veggies, fruit and drained onions in now empty bowl and toss with a bit of dressing. Again, to coat them well but not overdress. Season with salt and pepper. Place the veggies and fruits into the platter on top of your greens.
Last arrange protein, avocado, roasted veggies, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and cheese on top of your salad. Serve immediately.
NOTE: for quick homemade salads I simply slice watery veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers. However, for large crowds, professional results or salads that are served at a dinner party where they may sit for some time - remove the seeds from the cucumbers and tomatoes with a spoon (to prevent the salad from getting too soggy.)
