Salad

Salad

A garden salad platter served with bread and dressing on the side, consisting of lettuce, beetroot, cucumber, scallions, cherry tomatoes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta
Main ingredients	Pieces of vegetables, fruits, eggs, or grains mixed with a sauce.
Variations	Many
Cookbook: Salad   Media: Salad

A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a variety of flavors, are often used to enhance a salad.

Garden salads use a base of leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula or rocket, kale or spinach; they are common enough that the word salad alone often refers specifically to garden salads. Other types include bean salad, tuna salad, bread salad (such as fattoush, panzanella), vegetable salads without leafy greens (such as Greek salad, potato salad, coleslaw), rice-, pasta- and noodle-based salads, fruit salads and desserts.

Salads may be served at any point during a meal:

• Appetizer salads – light, smaller-portion salads served as the first course of the meal
• Side salads – to accompany the main course as a side dish; examples include potato salad and coleslaw
• Main course salads – usually containing a portion of one or more high-protein foods, such as eggs, legumes, or cheese
• Dessert salads – sweet salads containing fruit, gelatin, sweeteners or whipped cream

When a sauce is used to flavor a salad, it is generally called a dressing; most salad dressings are based on either a mixture of oil and vinegar or a creamy dairy base.