Time-Saving Salad
After reading my column on main-dish salads, Tommy Joseph wrote to say that he loves these, too, and will prep all the ingredients for six days’ worth of salads, then just combine one serving’s worth of ingredients each day he wants to eat a salad.
Joseph likes pasta and chicken. He also likes cabbage and radicchio, two ingredients I didn’t mention in my column but that I also have used with success.
Here is Joseph’s method, word for word. He correctly notes that the cabbage should be sliced very thin.
“First I broil the boneless chicken breats rubbed with a bit of olive oil, maybe 7 or 8 minutes per side. I make a pound of pasta as mentioned above. These two items are placed in containers and go in the fridge. I eat the same thing for 6 straight days, so this is perfect for me. I have other dishes with which I do the same thing.
“Now, in a large oblong plastic container I put half a head of cabbage cleaned and cut in half the long way, two quarters. I do the same with a head of radichio. If not available I’ll use red bell pepper slivered. So in this container I have 2 quarters of a head of radichio and cabbage. I also clean a bunch of scallions and cut the green parts from the white and throw away the middle. I put a small rubber band around the green parts, the whites also. I might also throw a cleaned and deseeded red bell pepper in the container.
“In a small plastic bag I keep a bunch of rinsed cilantro. In another I keep an avocado. Each day when I’m ready to sling this together I cut two or three ultra thin slices of cabbage from the quarters, the long way, so they’re slivered. Then I cut the slivers in half. I do the same with the radichio. I put about 4 green parts of scallion in there cut into one inch chunks, then slice in maybe two parts of the white. Garlic can also be used. I might also put a half of a roma tomato in there that has been peeled and cut into large chunks. Then I slice in some chicken, maybe 2 ounces, maybe 3. Then I squeeze the juice of half a lemon (or lime) into the mix and top it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. I mix it up and let it sit in the fridge while I go to work. I found that if the pasta is thin or fragile that mixing it ahead of time is not good, so I do that when I get home, toss a handful of pasta into the mix and toss it up a bit. Then I pour the whole shebang onto a plate and it’s eating time. I might also use feta cheese intead of chicken (as you also suggest in your article), if I’m too lazy to to cook the chicken. I am pround of this one.”
