For a change of pace, serve a warm pasta salad for lunch.
Since salads are typically served cold, why not try a warm salad for a change of pace? Main dish salads containing meat are delicious served warm, and many pasta and potato salads can be served warm. A warm salad goes equally well on a cold winter's night or on balmy summer evening -- either way, your meal will be a nutritious, fresh and easy-to-prepare main dish.
Warm Cashew Chicken Salad
Top this chicken salad with a generous helping of coarsely chopped cashews.
Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a 10-inch skillet. Saute 1 lb. of chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces, two finely chopped celery stalks and 1 cup finely chopped onion for approximately eight minutes. Ensure chicken is no longer pink in the center. Mix together 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil, 1 tsp. dried tarragon, or 2 tbsp. tarragon vinegar and 1 tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves, and pour over chicken the mixture. Serve warm over 3 cups Chinese cabbage, also called napa cabbage, and top with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashews.
Warm Wild Mushroom Salad
Use high quality extra virgin olive oil on a fresh salad.
Whisk together 3 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet and toss in a 1 lb. combination of cleaned and sliced button, oyster, Portobello and shiitake mushrooms. Cook mushrooms over medium heat until their liquid cooks off and they are brown. Remove skillet from heat, add sauteed mushrooms to vinaigrette and stir to coat mushrooms. Layer mushroom salad on toast topped with arugula and sprinkle the whole dish with shaved Parmesan cheese.
Warm Winter Salad
Saute sliced pears in olive oil to begin preparing this dish.
In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil and add two sliced pears. Cook pears, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer pears to a bowl. Meanwhile, whisk two small, cut-up shallots, 6 tbsp. sherry vinegar and 4 tsp. Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Add shallot mixture to the Dutch oven and, while stirring constantly, cook for about 20 seconds. Add 3 cups cooked, shredded turkey or chicken, one thinly sliced head of radicchio, one large, cored and thinly sliced fennel bulb, two large carrots that have been matchstick-cut and 2 tbsp. of chopped, toasted walnuts. Stir and cook until vegetables are just wilted -- about three minutes. Spoon pears back into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Place three butterhead or Boston lettuce leaves on each of four plates and top with the warm salad mixture. Sprinkle assembled salads with 2/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or goat cheese.
Thai Beef Salad
Ginger root needs to be peeled and minced before using.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients: 1/2 cup rice vinegar; 1/3 cup peanut or canola oil; 2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice; 1 tbsp. white granulated sugar; 1-1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root; 1-1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce; 1-1/2 tsp. soy sauce; 1 tsp. salt; 1 minced garlic clove; and 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 8 oz. spaghetti according to package instructions; drain and rinse in cold water. Toss pasta with 1/2 cup dressing and place in serving dish. In a large bowl, combine 5 oz. spring-mix salad greens, one small, thinly sliced sweet red pepper and four chopped green onions, and then drizzle with the remaining dressing. Arrange this lettuce mixture over the pasta, top with 1 lb. deli roast beef cut into strips and finish with 2 tbsp. chopped, salted peanuts.
Tags: tbsp olive, thinly sliced, warm salad, change pace, chopped cashews, coarsely chopped