Signature Series: Salads 2013

Everyone offers the classic Caesar salad, but these salad variations bring a little more excitement to menus. As part of our ongoing Signature Series, we asked operators to share their favorite salad recipes.

Mozzarella and Fresh Fruit Salad - University of Colorado

Chef Gerald Prete says this play on a caprese salad is the university’s most popular salad. “It is easy to make and is very refreshing,” Prete says. “This salad is very bright to the eye and draws customers in immediately.” The salad features a raspberry balsamic vinegar dressing and fresh mint. Field greens and baby spinach play host to grapefruit, oranges and strawberries. Prete says any local, ripe fruit can be substituted in place of the strawberries. He suggests watermelon when it’s in season.

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Crab Cake Salad - University of Kansas

Janna Traver, executive chef at the University of Kansas, says keeping it simple has been the key to her famous Crab Cake Salad, which has become a mainstay since the school made the move to full-service dining in 2007. The housemade lump crab cake is served on a bed of field greens garnished with grape tomatoes, avocado and julienned vegetables. The hook, according to Traver, is the creamy lemon caper vinaigrette that is made from scratch, which has been well received from visitors hailing from all over the country. “Within weeks of being open, we received requests to bottle the dressing,” Traver says. “Instead of trying to imitate it in a retail form, we promised our customers we would never take it off the menu.”

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Harvest Spinach & Beet Salad with Pomegranate & Orange-Cider Vinaigrette - NYU Langone Medical Center, New York

This salad features spinach, walnuts, golden beets, red onion and blue cheese, which creates a tangy salad that is great for catering events.

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Seared Fall Fruit Salad - Saint Clare’s Health System, Denville and Dover, N.J.

This salad, a great option for fall, features two kinds of apples, honey, dark rum or brandy and candied cranberries.

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Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Quinoa Salad and Roasted Vegetables - The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, Austin, Texas

For this dish a classic flat iron steak is paired with quinoa, fresh asparagus, purple cabbage, shredded carrots and red bell peppers.

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