Ode to the Freshest and Most Versatile of All Dishes, Salad!

“You don’t win friends with salad”, says Homer Simpsons to his daughter, Lisa, on the fifth episode in the seventh season of the series “The Simpsons”.

I very respectfully disagree, Mr. Simpson.
I say that you do.
You certainly win me! 😉

Chopped or cut, with veggies and fruits, seeds and nuts, cereals and cheeses, fish and meat or with nothing at all, just as it is. Salad is the most versatile of foods. Depending on what you put in it, it can be a very healthy and full meal or a great partner in crime for a main dish.
Salads are easy to prepare and super-fast to make. Anyone can make one, even me, which is exactly why I chose salad for my very first “Cooking with Mum” Class.

You see, unlike me, mom is a great cook, she is capable of putting together amazing lunches and dinners out of literally nothing. How she does it remains a mystery to me; even with using a bare fridge, her recipes are always a success.

So here you go, this is my mom’s very own recipe. It’s an adaptation of a very classic piece in the salad world: the Greek Salad, which she has proudly re-named Greekom-bian Salad.

Serving 2

3 cups of Romaine Lettuce
1/4 cup of Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil
1/4 cup of Feta Cheese
1/2 cup of Sweet Corn
1/2 cup of cut Hearts of Palm
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup red onion
1/2 cup of cherry tomatos

Vinagrete

4 tablespoons of mayonesa
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 tablespoon of mustard
1/4 cup of cilantro
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Chop the lettuce, wash it and clean it. Put it in a bowl and add the dried tomatoes, the feta cheese, the sweet corn, palm hearts and cherry tomatoes. Add the diced avocado and the thinly sliced purple onion. For the vinaigrette take all the ingredients and put them in the blender, until achieving a homogeneous mixture. If you want something simpler for the vinaigrette, simply use olive oil (the good one!), a bit of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper and go. Your salad is ready!

Next, is the presentation, never underestimate the power of it!
The way the food looks on the plate is what tempts our eyes and makes us want to taste it right away. So, let’s put in some extra effort and perhaps we can choose a very colorful ceramic plate, or place our salad in a wooden bowl or a crystal-clear serving plate.

You can accompany your Greekombian Salad with toasted whole wheat bread, some pita bread or a few crackers. And to spice things up, how about some curcuma or turmeric?

I prepared this salad under mum’s vigilant eye on a warm Monday evening and we had a lot of fun together!

What dish should we make next?