One of the most basic yet essential rules of owning a restaurant is: Have something for everyone. While many pizzerias have the capacity to offer a broad range of items, expanding the menu can seem intimidating if your shop is limited to pizza and a few other dishes. Add to that the number of dietary restrictions and food allergies that people seem to have these days, and things can get tricky. However, there is one simple solution: salad. It also just happens to be the perfect complement to pizza. A salad can add both flavor and lightness to a pizzeria menu as a starter, side or even a main course.
With many customers looking for a lighter meal option as the days get warmer, summer is the perfect time to up your salad game. (Yes, I’m talking about all you dads trying to slim up for swimsuit season.) Now is a great time to elevate your salads and turn them into stand-alone dishes. There are a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables to get creative with, and often you can even cross-utilize pizza ingredients. In my shop, we put spinach, kale and arugula on pizza and in salad. The only green we buy just for salads is romaine, although you could turn that into a pizza special by doing a post-bake twist on Caesar salad.
Salads as Entrées
The way to transform a side salad into a main course is all about rounding out and up. A side salad is there to break up the meal with acidity and crunch but not necessarily fill you up. A side salad also can get away with simply greens, dressing and perhaps some shaved Parmesan, whereas a main-dish salad should have depth and heartier ingredients. You can accomplish this by adding different textures and flavors. While meats and cheeses might be the first things that come to mind, there are plenty of ways to make plants the star of the show. Instead of just tossing everything in raw, shift things around by roasting, pickling, marinating and frying. For me, putting together a stellar dish is all about the contrast of flavors and textures.
- 1 head butter lettuce (washed and torn into large pieces)
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 cup farro (cooked and cooled)
- 1 peach (pitted and thinly sliced)
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds (tossed with olive oil, sea salt and a pinch of chili powder, then toasted)
- ½ cup fresh corn (lightly charred and removed from husk)
- ½ cup pickled red onion (super thinly sliced)
- ½ cup goat cheese
- 6 ounces cilantro vinaigrette (recipe below)
- Place the butter lettuce and spinach in a bowl.
- Top and toss with the remaining ingredients.
Consider these ideas to help you create unparalleled salads:
- Make your own dressing. Dressings are pretty simple, can be made in big batches for the week and pack a ton of flavor. A homemade dressing can turn any salad into something to talk about.
- Add crunch. Different textures give salads dimension. You can accomplish this with anything from nuts and seeds to raw bell pepper, corn or croutons.
- A little something creamy goes a long way. Soft cheeses, avocado or a cream-based dressing make a salad feel decadent and extra satisfying.
- Acid makes everything better. That’s right, just a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar can brighten up any dish and enhance its flavors.
Don’t pass on the carbs. The salad may be the main focus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add some bread or grains. A few slices of homemade bread, cheesy garlic sticks or focaccia slices can make salad feel like a complete meal. If you want to steer away from wheat, cooked grains such as farro, quinoa, couscous, wild rice or amaranth are a great choice.
Salad on top of salad. A great way to make salad a full meal is to add a composed salad: chicken salad, egg salad, pasta salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, potato salad or any grain salad. Pick a flavor profile and build it around the other salad.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Place everything in a blender (except the cilantro) and blend until smooth.
- Add cilantro and pulse in the blender until herbs are incorporated but there are still small pieces intact.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Inventive Salad Proteins
If protein is important to you as an add-on, there are plenty of great options. That being said, I’m not big on putting chicken on my pizza or salads. Yes, people ask all the time. No, I don’t think it’s a necessary topping on either. There are lots of ways to add flavor and protein to your menu without it.
Just like on pizza, cheese is a great choice. There are endless artisanal cheeses out there that can add a huge punch of flavor to an entrée salad. Nuts are another good source of protein and can be added raw or tossed with spices and toasted for extra flavor. One of my all-time favorite add-ins for salads is marinated gigante beans. You can use other beans as well and change up the marinade to fit the flavor profile of your salad. Grains are filled with protein and add great texture while absorbing the flavor of the dressing.
Whether you are looking to add salads as a main course or redefine the ones already on your menu, summer is the perfect time to get creative. So, sharpen your knives, get out your pickling spices and toast up some seeds, it’s salad season – oh, and don’t forget the anchovies!
AUDREY KELLY owns Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado.
