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Complement All Your Summer Meals With A Special Salad

Laura Carnie Correspondent

Summer company meals call for at least one special salad. Whether the event is a casual barbecue in the back yard, a picnic at the lake place or a candle-and-crystal event in the air-conditioned dining room, summertime is salad time.

These salads are especially good as accompaniments for grilled or broiled meats, fish or poultry. Just add a bread and simple dessert for easy-on-the-cook company fare that’s sure to please.

Dilly Potato Salad

3 pounds new red potatoes (about 12 cups)

1-1/2 cups chopped celery

1 large Walla Walla sweet onion or other mild onion, diced

2 large dill pickles, chopped Dressing:

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, optional

1 tablespoon celery seed

2-1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed, crushed

2 cloves garlic, minced

Scrub potatoes and cube. Place in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes or until potatoes are just tender but not mushy. Drain. Meanwhile, prepare and combine celery, onion and pickles in large bowl.

Mix dressing ingredients. Add drained potatoes and dressing; stir to blend. If desired, garnish with additional dill weed and/or dill pickles. Serve hot or cold. Yield: 16 to 20 servings.

Citrus Slaw

1/2 cup prepared nonfat herb vinaigrette

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

8 cups shredded napa cabbage

4 oranges, peeled and segmented

2 red apples, halved, cored and diced

2 cups quartered pitted prunes

1 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Pepper, to taste

In large bowl, whisk vinaigrette and juice concentrate. Add remaining ingredients except pepper. Toss thoroughly. Season with pepper.

Yield: 12 (1-cup) servings.

Nutrition per serving: 113 calories, 28 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 6 grams fiber, 155 milligrams sodium.

Ten-Cup Wonder Salad

2 cups green seedless grapes

2 cups red seedless grapes

2 cups torn or cut green lettuce

2 cups torn or cut iceberg lettuce

2 cups shredded carrots Honey-lime dressing:

2/3 cup lime juice

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons grated lime peel

2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix grapes, lettuce and carrots; set aside.

Combine dressing ingredients; mix well until blended. Add to salad and toss to mix.

Yield: 12 servings.

Nutrition per serving: 96 calories, 1 gram protein, 0.4 grams fat (4 percent fat calories), 25 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 365 milligrams sodium.

Mediterranean Watermelon Salad

6 cups torn mixed salad greens

3 cups cubed seeded watermelon

1/2 cup sliced onion

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup Watermelon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Cracked black pepper

In large bowl, mix all ingredients except vinaigrette and pepper; cover and chill if not serving immediately. Just before serving, toss salad mixture with vinaigrette. Garnish with pepper.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition per serving: 75 calories, 13 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 2 grams fat (24 percent fat calories), 2 grams fiber, 81 milligrams sodium, 4 milligrams cholesterol.

Watermelon Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons currant jelly

1/4 cup pureed watermelon (see note)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic pepper

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

In small saucepan, heat jelly just until melted; cool. Add remaining ingredients; stir until well blended. Store in refrigerator; shake well before using.

Yield: 1/2 cup.

Note: To puree, process chunks of seeded watermelon in blender.

Greek Pasta Salad

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic

1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions, rinsed and drained

1 (14.5-ounce) can cut tomatoes, slightly drained

1 (14-ounce) can large pitted black olives, drained and cut in half lengthwise

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese with peppercorns

1-1/2 cups sliced red onion

1 cup torn basil leaves

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

In food processor, combine oil, vinegars, garlic, parsley, salt and crushed pepper. Puree until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside.

In large bowl, add pasta, tomatoes, olives, cheese, onion, basil and half the pine nuts. Pour vinegar mixture over salad and toss until well coated. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Toss salad before serving. Top with remaining pine nuts.

Yield: 12 servings.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.