A salad can be a simple side dish or can be a meal completely in iteself. All salads are best made with seasonally available ingredients and the recipes should therefore be adjusted according to the time of the year, to what looks best, and to what is readily obtainable in the shops and your garden.
Salad Leaves
Try salad mixes to start, but definitely experiment with romaine lettuce, green and red leaf lettuce, baby spinace, arugula, watercress, and dandelion greens. Iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value and should be used rarely, if ever.
Grains, Pastas, & Legumes
When eating a salad as the main course, it's useful to include grains and legumes to create a more-filling dish. Interesting additions include wild rice, chickpeas, couscous, quinoa, and beans. Pasta and noodles are useful also in adding bulk to a dish but also for a change in texture. Virtually any pasta can be used, but favorites include orzo and penne which are smaller varieties.
Fruit
Rasberries, strawberries, apples, and blueberries are delicious additions to side or main-dish salads. Also amazing is a spritz of lemon, lime, or orange juice.
