Raise your hand if you haven't some day improvised a salad of bag sprouts, a can of tuna, maybe some corn and some cherry tomatoes with the texture of shoe soles. Preparing a salad in a few minutes is something very handy, especially when the heat is on and the body asks us for frugal and fresh meals. But we don't have to limit ourselves to the four standard ingredients, the market is full of foods that we don't usually eat in the form of a salad and that, without a doubt, will bring joy to our summer dishes.
The first thing to keep in mind if we want to give our repetitive summer salads a twist is that lettuce or any type of green sprout is not essential in any case. This is explained by Johanna Lama, head waiter at the Croma by Flash restaurant in Barcelona, which has a wide assortment of salads, always original and innovative, which change depending on the seasonal products and are completed with an extensive buffet so that each diner can devise combinations to their liking, including an extensive assortment of surprising vinaigrettes.
Croma is, in fact, the little brother of Flash Flash Tortillería, one of the first places in Barcelona to offer a salad buffet, by popular request, to accompany its mythical tortillas and hamburgers. According to Lama, "we hardly offer green salads, except for the spinach one, since we understand that you can go much further." In fact, why order in a restaurant those salads that we already prepare at home when we can enjoy creative and surprising proposals? In this sense, the Croma counter is a good place to get ideas that can be applied later in homes. Like some of the ones that we detail below:
"All vegetables work wonderfully in salads, although not all of them must be cooked in the same way to make them look good," says Lama, who insists that, for her, the priority is always to prepare them with seasonal, natural, and fresh produce. the best quality, since if they are not, it will be especially noticeable in salads, where they are served without masking.
Some of these vegetables, such as asparagus, zucchini, carrots or artichokes (which are only on the menu during the months in season) are served raw, cut into very thin slices. The aubergine, for its part, is lightly blanched and grilled, and is served, for example, with a burrata straccialella and some candied tomatoes. In the case of broccoli or cauliflower, it is cooked al dente accompanied by the most diverse ingredients. The chef and owner of the restaurant Quince Nudos, in Ribadesella (Asturias), Bruno Lombán, declares himself a fan of broccoli salads and recommends grating it. “If we don't want to find the texture of the broccoli in the bite, it can always be grated, to achieve its full flavor, just like wild asparagus”, explains the cook. In the latter case, Lombán recommends sautéing them for a moment before cutting them into slices.
Once we have the vegetables as the base of the salad, you can play with the most diverse ingredients. Here the only limit is your imagination. “A raw zucchini and artichoke salad with broad beans and a super refreshing lemon-lime vinaigrette can be a great dish. If we get used to playing with vinaigrettes we can prepare a truffle vinaigrette and add it, for example, to a thinly sliced green asparagus salad to which any other ingredient can be added, such as cod or even some seasonal fruit. Lama explains.
If summer has something, it is a variety of seasonal fruits that never ends. Lombán recommends abandoning the idea that fruits are only eaten between meals or as desserts and start experimenting with them in salads as well. Some examples? “A melon or a watermelon at its point, mixed with some tomatoes, burrata and cilantro to taste, in this case seasoned only with oil, not with vinegar. It is a salad that works perfectly, like the one with strawberries with anchovies in vinegar, since the acidity of the strawberry, which in this case should be served chopped, is wonderful with the anchovies in vinegar", he explains, for his part, the chef of Quince Nudos.
In the case of tomatoes, in this restaurant in Ribadesella they are never served out of season, so in winter they are simply not used. “And nothing happens, because we can prepare, for example, a peach salad in syrup, which is a good way to eat well-preserved foods that are not in season. They look wonderful with eggs, tuna and homemade mayonnaise”, explains Lombán, who reminds us that tomatoes should always be kept out of the fridge and consumed in the shortest possible time to prevent them from spoiling.
At Croma by Flash they are also in favor of fruit salads. Lama explains some of the ones they have had on the menu: "From the shrimp timbale with avocado, mango and tomato, which is delicious, to the classic spinach salad with apple," he explains. The maitre d' also remembers that you can actually incorporate fruits to taste: strawberries, red berries, orange... "We even prepare an avocado cannelloni and a mango cannelloni that are served cold and look wonderful in any salad," he points out.
Chickpeas, lentils, peas, and lima beans are great ingredients for a salad. It is often difficult for us to get used to eating them cold, which may be because we use too much. In the right proportion, well combined with other foods and with the correct vinaigrette, they are a delight for any palate, as well as very nutritious and a good way to guarantee iron, fiber and protein consumption at a time when the heat tends to make that we eat less and worse. “A salad that usually works very well is that of chickpeas with cod, orange and spring onion, as well as that of lentils with tuna, onion and an anchovy vinaigrette that gives it flavor. The idea is to go playing and experimenting with the flavors and textures, because the possibilities are endless”, says Lama, who declares himself a fan of baby broad beans. "They are a natural, highly nutritious product that looks great on any dish."
Lombán, for his part, has prepared on occasion in Quince Nudos a chickpea salad with orange, cod and raisins. "An orange vinaigrette is added and the result is spectacular," explains the chef. Lombán recommends preparing the salad the day before and only making the vinaigrette at the moment, just before eating it.
Those who want a more consistent salad, or those who have hungry children or adolescents at home, can always opt for a cereal base, be it rice, quinoa (and with it to prepare an exotic poke in no time), pasta or couscous , as well as other lesser-known cereals such as bulgur, very fashionable lately. Lombán declares himself a supporter of the classic rice salad, which goes well with almost any ingredient. “You can add some quality blanched teardrop peas, and protein such as bacon or chicken. Some mussels would also work, for example, and some vinaigrette such as apple, to give it a refreshing touch ”, he affirms.
In Croma, for their part, they declare themselves fans of quinoa, an ingredient also in high demand by their clientele. "Simply with vegetables and a vinaigrette that adds flavor already works, but it also works very well poke style, with tuna, ginger, edamame and seaweed, for example," says Lama. In this sense, the head waiter of this establishment located on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona also recommends experimenting with seaweed salads, a flavor that is still difficult for Western palates but that has many possibilities. “A starter with different types of seaweed, edamame, and avocado is priceless,” she notes.
Experimenting with vinaigrettes is a must for any lover of salads, who have at their disposal a thousand possibilities to go beyond the classic honey and mustard or balsamic vinegar. For Lama, it is essential that the vinaigrettes are homemade and made with natural products. In the case of Croma, they have different ingredients and the diner can choose which one they prefer for their salad. "They can be orange, lime and lemon, citrus, basil, with pine nuts, with pistachios... In addition to the classic ones, such as honey and mustard, which goes so well in a salad with Iberian ham, for example", Lama explains. One of the vinaigrettes that Lombán recommends is "cold pesto, with pine nuts, and if it's too expensive, we can use peanuts."
Studies do not stop appearing that indicate that eating nuts daily is the best guarantee to enjoy good cardiovascular health, since they contain healthy fatty acids that contribute to maintaining a healthy heart, and therefore, to preventing cerebrovascular conditions. One of the most recent, produced by scientists at Texas Tech University, points out that eating between 57 and 99 grams of walnuts a day leads to higher levels of the amino acid L-homoarginine in the intestines. Since people with lower levels of homoarginine are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, this finding showed that it might be possible to improve heart health through dietary changes that affect the gut microbiome.
Another study, this time carried out by the Pennsylvania State University, indicates that replacing the consumption of pastries rich in refined carbohydrates with almonds at snack time can protect against cardiovascular diseases in people with risk factors, despite contributing the same number of calories. Nutritionist Susana León recalls that nuts should always be eaten "natural or toasted, in no case fried."
So, always having walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts or pistachios at home and getting used to adding a handful to the salad, either alone or combined, whole or chopped, not only adds flavor and originality, but also health.
