A Quick Meal Idea: Salads

By Chef Selwyn Richards
Culinary Specialist

I love salads for lunch or dinner almost any day of the week, but especially in the summer when it’s just too hot to cook. Salads are very versatile and healthy. You can easily customize them to adjust to your family’s taste and of course they are quick and easy to throw together. Here’s how you turn this side dish into a filling meal.

Caesar Salad
Chop romaine lettuce; top it with croutons, parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing and any of the following: grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, smoked or cooked salmon or any other cooked fish you have handy.

Pasta Salad

Photo courtesy of The Art of Catering.

Make your favorite pasta salad and add cooked chicken or diced ham to it. Simply combine noodles and fresh chopped veggies with Italian dressing and let it sit for an hour. That’s how easy pasta salad is to make.

Chef Salad
Start with lettuce, then add carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced hard boiled eggs, ham and turkey and grated cheese. Top with your favorite salad dressing.

Mediterranean Salad
Combine dark leafy lettuce with baby spinach. Top with diced tomatoes, olives, drained chickpeas, and crumbled feta cheese. Serve with a vinaigrette or Italian dressing and some toasted pita bread on the side.

Potato Salad
Make your favorite potato salad and add some chopped ham, cooked kielbasa type sausage or sliced hot dogs.

Selwyn Richards is an award-winning master chef. He is also the President and Executive Chef at The Art of Catering Inc. and is the author of “The Art of Cooking: Soul of The Caribbean”. Chef Selwyn can be reached at: selwyn@theartofcatering.com or by phone — (905) 619-1059.