I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian, but where I live it was minus 41 degrees last night with the windchill. Oranges? Raspberries? Go with what you feel like eating/serving. The oranges in our supermarket are from South Africa (hello my jet-lagged lovelies), and the raspberries from Chile and I do know I should stick to cabbage and carrot salads, but right about now I'm quite willing to pick up a punnet of those eternally- white centered strawberries, try to coax out some flavour with a bit of lavender sugar, douse them in Cointreau and call it breakfast. Thanks. Long winter!
As everyone has said, you're eating it, so please yourself. But the combination of out-of-season fruit and (bottled?) ranch dressing does not appeal to me. If you want to try something seasonal, look for radicchio and arugula salads, which combine nicely with citrus fruit. Or slice an avocado, top with orange or grapefruit pieces and chopped red onion, sprinkle with a dusting of cumin and garlic, olive oil and some good vinegar.
I don't know where you are, but if you're in the northern hemisphere, I agree with cv and suggest skipping the berries and going for something citrus--which is in season. I also agree that a light vinaigrette would work best: I find that a tsp of vinegar (in this case I'd use white balsamic or champagne) to 3 tsps of oil, with a pinch of sugar and pepper is perfect for a salad with fruit that would serve four people. In any case, the ratio almost always works.
It's your salad, but if it's just going to be strawberries, raspberries and baby romaine, it might seem a little odd to people who are not new to salads. You might want to toss in some sliced red onions, toasted almonds and a few crumbles of goat or feta cheese.
Whatever dressing you go with (I favor a vinaigrette with some orange juice as the acid), experiment with health portions of fresh herbs.
A few years ago I developed a salad using melons and cucumbers, and tried a half dozen herbs in rotation. While the usual mint, parsley and basil each were (was?) nice, the cilantro (surprisingly) brought the whole thing together.
sun, nonono!ranch dressing will be too overpowering for those lovely fruits. you want to showcase the fruit by using a simple vinaigrette (vinegar, oil, garlic, dijon, s&p)
maybe using a sherry or balsamic vinegar and evoo and/or a nut oil.
I have had all of these individual ingredients separately many times before and I wouldn't expect them to go together.
Moreover, I don't think decent berries can be had in the Northern Hemisphere in February.
That said, you should try it out yourself. Ultimately, you are the one who needs to be satisfied with this dish, not anyone here at Food52. We're not eating it, you and your guests are.
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It's your salad, but if it's just going to be strawberries, raspberries and baby romaine, it might seem a little odd to people who are not new to salads. You might want to toss in some sliced red onions, toasted almonds and a few crumbles of goat or feta cheese.
A few years ago I developed a salad using melons and cucumbers, and tried a half dozen herbs in rotation. While the usual mint, parsley and basil each were (was?) nice, the cilantro (surprisingly) brought the whole thing together.
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maybe using a sherry or balsamic vinegar and evoo and/or a nut oil.
Moreover, I don't think decent berries can be had in the Northern Hemisphere in February.
That said, you should try it out yourself. Ultimately, you are the one who needs to be satisfied with this dish, not anyone here at Food52. We're not eating it, you and your guests are.
Good luck.