Cornbread Salad with Buttermilk Lime Dressing

Salads get such a bum rap.  I mean, who gets excited about salad?  Almost no one.  To most people, it's the epitome of bland, boring diet food.  When a client tells me he's been eating more salad, it's always in the same droll monotone that reminds me of Ben Stein calling Ferris Buller's name for class attendance. 

"I've been eating more sah-luuuds"

So sad.

Hopefully a few of my recipes have already inspired you to see beyond bagged salad, shredded cheese and bottled ranch.  But if you're still in the salad hating camp, read on.

It's easy to make a salad tasty if paying no mind to nutrition.  Pile on some fried chicken, bacon and blue cheese dressing!  Sure, it'll taste good, but at that point, you might as well have a burger. 

Think of salads as a way to turn your favorite delicious ingredients into a full meal.  Sitting down to a big plate of cheese, olives and bread might be tasty, but balanced, it is not.  Toss those ingredients with spicy arugula, and tadaa!  Dinner is served!  You can also use salads as a way to indulge in a not-so-healthy favorite in a more moderate way.  As you well know, my idea of heaven is an artisan fromagerie with never ending free samples.  But if I were to eat cheese in the quantities I want, I'd end up there a lot sooner than I'd like!  Salads flavored with a little cheese allows me to indulge more often.  Maybe red meat is your weakness?  Grill up a skirt steak and serve it over a blood mary inspired salad of tomatoes, celery, and green olives.  Sausage makes you weak in the knees?  Serve an organic chicken or turkey sausage in a bistro style salad of arugula and roasted fingerlings. 

Build a better salad:

- Use in season vegetables, preferably from the local farmer's market.  The taste is superior, which is very important in a veggie-centric dish like salad. 
- Choose your lettuce right.  Romaine is great for crunchy chopped salads plus it's sturdy, so you can throw it on the grill (try it!).  Spring mix has a mild flavor which makes it versatile, but you should add strongly flavored ingredients like olives, dried fruit, or a bright vinaigrette to punch it up.  Boston, butter and bibb lettuces work well with other creamy ingredients, like avocado and soft cheeses, but they need something with a little crunch too, like diced apple or toasted nuts.  Arugula, dandelion, kale or other bitter greens need something with a hint of sweetness to tone down their bitterness, like a bit of honey in the dressing or roasted root vegetables. 
- Toss out that shredded junk and splurge on flavorful, high quality cheese. You only need a small amount, about 1/2-1 ounce per serving, so make it count. My favorites - gorgonzola, feta and extra sharp aged cheddar.
- Use fresh bread from the bakery to make croutons. Start by heating olive oil and garlic in large skillet, then add torn chunks of bread and cook until lightly toasted.
- Toss in cooked whole grains like farro, barley or brown rice, which adds a nutty flavor and turns a basic salad into a substantial main.
- Nuts are a great salad garnish, or you could use them in place of your protein.  Toast them first to bring out their flavor.
- Most people think creamy dressing is less healthy than vinaigrette, but that's not always the case.  Healthy ranch, caesar and other creamy dressings can be made at home using ingredients like buttermilk, Greek yogurt and olive or canola oil mayonnaise. 

Cornbread Salad with Buttermilk Lime Dressing

Serves 6

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I served this salad with beer can chicken, but you could turn this into a main dish by adding black-eyed peas, grilled shrimp or leftover roasted chicken. 

Salad:
1 1/2 lb tomatoes, preferably heirloom cause I'm a snob for them, chopped, seeded if you like
1 small head romaine, butter or Bibb lettuce, chopped
3 cups watercress, dandelion greens, arugula or other bitter green
1/2 large Vidalia onion, peeled and sliced as thinly as possible

Buttermilk-Lime Dressing:
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2-3 limes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Thin, Crispy Cornbread:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Grease a 12-inch skillet with the butter, leaving the excess in the pan and place it in the oven.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients for the cornbread together.  In a medium bowl whisk the egg until frothy, then whisk in the buttermilk.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then mix together.  Whisk in the canola oil.

When the butter in the pan in the oven is smoking, remove from the oven and swirl it around (carefully!) to cover the bottom and sides.  Pour the batter into the skillet.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the edges have pulled away from the skillet.  Remove from oven and let cool

While the cornbread is baking, whisk together all the ingredients for the salad dressing.

When the cornbread is cool enough to handle, cut it into 1-inch cubes.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake in a 250 degree oven until it's lightly toasted.

In a large bowl, toss together lettuces, tomato and onions.  Add 3-4 cups of cornbread cubes...or all of them!  Toss with dressing or serve on the side.