The Everything Salad
I´m on a personal mission in giving salads a better name.
As it turns out, rebranding wan´t as simple as I thought…
A lot of my conflict, as it turns out, was a matter of linguistics. (Or is it Semantics?). I was confronted with the philosophical dilemma of maybe not knowing exactly what a Salad is. Or rather... What makes a salad, a salad?
Is it the presence of lettuce? Leafy greens? Does a salad by definition need a vinaigrette? And at what point does a recipe drift away from salad territory and become simply a bowl of magnificent, fresh and nourishing food?
In any case, I can assure you it has been an absolute hit, not only with myself (I will make this at least twice a month), but also with my entire family.
I came home (To Mexico City) to escape the Montreal winter and made this salad at my mom's house. Suffice to say, that after my parents, sister, brother in law AND toddler nephews had a bowl, I realized I was going to be making it every week, triple the size for everyone in the house. And no matter how much I made, the enormous bowl in the fridge would be gone within 48 hours. Buen Provecho!
Now, before I get to the actual recipe (And I will, I promise!) I just want to talk a little bit about swaps:
This is not to make things more complicated or annoying. It's more here as an opportunity to empower you and not freak out if you don't have all the ingredients in this list (Of which there are a lot).
What I care about more is that you understand why each ingredient is there and what it's function is. This way, if you don't have let's say, a jar of capers, you'll know that they're there to provide salt and funk and that maybe a can of anchovies, grated (aged) parmesan or maybe even some olives stuffed with blue cheese might provide a similar effect.
Don't have pasta? Add potatoes for a starch. Missing lemons? Swap them for some apple cider vinegar and a tiny drizzle of honey, to get that tart sweetness.
For this, you'll see that the non negotiables have been divided into categories. Of these categories I offer at times easy swaps, but hopefully, making it once (And if you dare, more than once) will familiarize you with the swaps you're more comfortable with, and will eventually help you build YOUR Everything and Anything Salad. In which case I would say, proud mama bear style, "My job here is done".
The last thing I will say is this. No matter which swaps you go for or how true you keep to the recipe, when all is said and done, you'll find that what gives this salad the true finishing, delicious, addictive touch is coating it in sufficient extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. It's more than you think!
And now, the good part:
INGREDIENTS:
CRUNCH & FRESHNESS
2 heads of fresh, raw broccoli (chopped into bitesize pieces)
Swap with plentiful cruciferous vegetables, such as Cauliflower or Brussel Sprouts, but the crunch in the broccoli is in my opinion, unparalleled.
1 large bunch of celery (chopped)
Swap with a bulb of fennel.
CARBS (YUM.)
2 cups of short grain pasta.
I prefer fusilli as it holds is shape best and also collects all of the dressing and ingredients within it's small ridges, but penne or rigatoni or oricchiette would also work great here.
You can also swap the pasta with boiled, crushed potatoes, though I find that they tend to get lost in the salad and it's not as satisfying as getting a full piece of pasta in one bite.
ALLIUMS
7 Scallions (Chopped, including and specially the green part).
In my taste this is a non negotiable. The green parts of the scallion deliver freshness and richness and pepperiness all at once. If you can't find them though, simply add the other onions and maybe consider adding half a garlic clove, grated.
FUNK
2 drained jars of capers. (One chopped, the other whole)
1/2 jar of jarred, pickled, yellow peppers (Chopped)
Swap these two for any pickled product of your choosing, like cornichons or pickled pearl onions.
200 grams of grated, aged Parmegiano Reggianno
Swap with Pecorino or Grana Padano, but preferably an aged, salty cheese, crumbly cheese.
HERBACEOUSNESS
2 full bunches of parsley leaves (very roughly chopped)
1 full bunch of cilantro leaves (very roughly chopped)
Basil leaves (to taste and for topping)
(Everyone's tastebuds are different but if you, let's say don't like cilantro, just double the amount of Parsley here and viceversa. There's no lettuce in this dish, so having an abundance of herbs is key for flavour and bulk. It will seem like too much, but it will shrink in the fridge once you add the salt and oil).
PROTEINS
4 chicken breasts, poached in salted water (cubed)
(Swap with any protein of your choice. Two cans of oil packed tuna or veggy meat go well here).
1 can of chickpeas (drained, rinsed, lightly mashed)
(Any canned bean would do the job in providing bulk, balance and creamyness. Just make sure they're well drained from their juices and rinsed, so they hit the salad as dry as possible. I like the aesthetic of a white / beige bean agains the green veggies, but if you care less about presentation, go nuts!)
THE DRESSING
1/2 cup of Extra virgin olive oil (or more to taste).
(A solid quality oil goes a long way here, though because it's so much of it, don't go crazy with the $40 bottle).
The juice of one lemon
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Salt to taste.
(Preferably Diamond Crystal Kosher, as it has a lower salinity level and can be more forgiving as you season to taste, but any kind of salt would work. Just make sure that you add little by little and tasting with every mix).
INSTRUCTIONS:
PREPARING AND COOKING
Start with bringing to a boil a large pot of water. Once you have it's boiling, heavily salt so that the water tastes like the ocean.
Drop the pasta and cook until al dente. (Because we're not going to continue cooking this pasta any further, make sure it's not crunchy. You want it to have sufficient bite so that it doesn't disintegrate, but more cooked than if you were cooking a hot pasta dish). Once you've achieved the desired consistency, scoop it our and place it in a colander (Keep the water hot and boiling). Rinse the pasta with cold water so that you stop the cooking process. Then coat with olive oil sufficiently so that they don't stick to each other and season with a bit of salt to taste. Set aside.
In the same cooking water, drop your chicken breasts. Once they hit the water, the boil will probably reduce. Lower the heat to medium and cook until they reach a temperature of 165F. (If you don't own a kitchen thermometer I honestly cannot recommend one enough. It's the only way I can assure my chicken is safe to eat without simultaneously overcooking the poor thing until it's bone dry). Once out of the hot water, let cool until they can be handled and then cut in small, bitesize cubes. Set aside.
Drain the can of chickpeas and rinse so that they don't taste too much like their can liquid. In a bowl, lightly mash them up so that you reveal a bit of their insides, but still preserving overall big chunks of the beans. (Uniformity is not necessary or encouraged here. You want to have different sizes of chickpea. It'll make for a more interesting final result). Once done, drizzle a small amount of oil and season with a bit of salt to taste. Doing this with the chickpeas and pasta will make for a final dish that is seasoned at every level).
THE CHOPPING (ALL OF THE CHOPPING).
This is where things require a bit of muscle. You're going to chop all the veggies. Trying to make them into bitesize pieces but without going nuts and making everything too small. Whats satisfying about this salad is having variety of sizes and shapes. You want everyone to clearly see what everything is.
As you chop all your ingredients, start adding them to a big bowl. Seriously, the largest one you can find. You'll need sufficient space to toss everything with enough vigour, and you'll find that using the wrong sized bowl will quickly make you spill your ingredients in the floor. Highly do not recommend.
THE FINAL SEASONING:
As you add all your ingredients in the bowl, start adding the olive oil, salt and pepper and keep tasting (Just don´t add anything liquid when prepping, as the herbs will start sogging out the moment they enter in contact with water content. You want to dress your salad with any liquids like vinegars, lemon, caper juice etc until they’ve been plated!)
When it comes to olive oil however, more is more. Keep adding, seasoning with salt and pepper, tasting and tossing. The olive oil here will force all the ingredients to mingle and get along. It will also round out the flavours, leveling down the high notes from the vegetables.
Only once serving you can mix in the juice of half a lemon per plate. More flaky salt and pepper and shards of cheese.
