I made 3 of Ina Garten's salad recipes —the best felt the fanciest but was the easiest to make

Mon, 07/29/2024 - 08:12

Bird's-eye-view of three salads on a wooden cutting board. The salads contain ingredients including arugula, carrots, orange wedges, purple cabbage, and apples. — I made three of Ina Garten's salads to find the best summertime side dish.
Moriah House

I tried three of Ina Garten's salad recipes to find the tastiest one.
Making bacon for the Cape Cod chopped salad was a bit too time-consuming.
The tricolore salad with oranges stood out for its simplicity and unique flavor.

I love pairing a delicious summer dinner with a great side salad.

My standards are simple: I want something that feels a step above bottled dressing and bagged lettuce but comes together easily on a weeknight.

As grocery prices start to come back down, cooking at home is more appealing and even a little cheaper. So, I decided it was finally time to see if I could find a salad recipe that fits my needs and is packed with flavor.

I'm a fan of Ina Garten, so I made and reviewed three of her salad recipes to find my new summer favorite. Turns out, sometimes unlikely combinations come out on top.

I started by making Garten's Cape Cod chopped salad.

A wooden cutting board holding bowls of ingredients for a Cobb salad. The ingredients include arugula, bacon, oil, cranberries, nuts, an orange, and blue cheese. — The Cape Cod chopped salad called for arugula, bacon, apples, cranberries, and blue cheese.
Moriah House

The Cape Cod chopped salad calls for 8 ounces each of arugula and bacon, 6 ounces of crumbled blue cheese, one Granny Smith apple, and a half cup each of dried cranberries and walnuts.

I bought pre-crumbled blue cheese because it was easy to measure and sprinkle on the salad.

Next, I cooked bacon and tossed it with the rest of the ingredients.

Bird's-eye-view of a metal bowl filled with arugula, nuts, cranberries, pieces of apple, and blue cheese on a wooden table — I tossed the finished cooked bacon with the other salad ingredients once it was prepared.
Moriah House

Garten's recipe calls for cooked bacon, so I put a few strips on a baking rack atop a sheet pan to catch the grease. After 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, they came out perfectly crispy.

Next, I combined all of my base ingredients and toppings in a large bowl.

The dressing was easy to make, which I liked.

A jar of a yellow vinaigrette with a hand whisking the mixture inside the jar. The jar sits on a wooden cutting board — The dressing called for ingredients like maple syrup, orange juice, and apple-cider vinegar.
Moriah House

For the dressing, I combined 3 tablespoons of apple-cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, 2 tablespoons each of maple syrup and orange juice, 2-½ teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1-½ teaspoons of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, and 2/3 cup of olive oil.

Finally, per Garten's recipe, I tossed the salad with the dressing and finished it with half a teaspoon of salt.

The final salad was pretty basic but still tasty.

Bird's-eye-view of a metal bowl of a tossed salad containing arugula, cranberries, apple pieces, and nuts with metal tongs sticking out the bowl — I wasn't blown away by the finished Cape Cod chopped salad, but I still liked it.
Moriah House

Garten's Cape Cod chopped salad was relatively easy to make, especially since the most involved step was cooking bacon. I loved the combination of crunchy, savory, and sweet components.

I particularly enjoyed the contrast of the tangy dressing with the rich cheese and bacon. However, this salad was nothing groundbreaking — it was just a great rendition of a classic.

The flavors stood out beautifully at first, but I suggest eating this salad fresh. As it sat in the fridge, everything started to meld together.

Next, I made Garten's maple-roasted-carrot salad.

A wooden cutting board with bowls of carrot-arugula salad ingredients. The cutting board holds bowls of arugula, almonds, orange juice, cranberries, and cheese, as well as several carrots with the stems attached — The maple-roasted-carrot salad required arugula, goat cheese, cranberries, and orange juice.
Moriah House

Garten's maple-roasted-carrot salad calls for 6 ounces each of arugula and diced goat cheese, 2/3 cup each of Marcona almonds and dried cranberries, and 2 pounds of carrots.

I thought the almonds and goat cheese made this salad feel a little fancier right off the bat.

Roasting the carrots was the most time-consuming part of this recipe.

A baking sheet lined with parchment paper with several pieces of carrots covered in seasonings arranged on it — I roasted carrots for about 35 minutes total.
Moriah House

Next, I had to roast carrots.

I chopped carrots into diagonal slices (Garten recommends 1 inch wide by 2 inches long) and tossed them with ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of pepper.

Then, I roasted them in the oven at 425 degrees. I removed them from the oven after 25 minutes, tossed them in ¼ cup of maple syrup, and put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

I brought the cranberries and orange juice to a simmer in a small pot.

Cranberries in a saucepan with a hand pouring orange juice into the pot above the fruit. The pan sits on an electric burner. — The orange juice made the cranberries sweet and plump.
Moriah House

While the carrots were roasting, I brought the cranberries and 2/3 cup of orange juice to a simmer in a small pot.

Once the mixture started bubbling, I immediately removed it from the heat and set it aside to let the cranberries soak.

I didn't understand the purpose of this step at first. However, I later realized that the orange juice made the cranberries extremely plump and juicy.

As the dish came together, I appreciated that the salad and dressing required only a few ingredients.

Bird's-eye-view of a metal bowl of almonds, arugula, cheese, cranberries, and pieces of carrots — I liked that the maple-roasted-carrot salad didn't require too many ingredients.
Moriah House

Next, I whisked a simple four-ingredient dressing using 3 tablespoons each of olive oil and sherry-wine vinegar, two grated garlic cloves, and half a teaspoon of salt.

I couldn't find sherry-wine vinegar, so I used white-wine vinegar and added a splash of sherry. Though this worked in a pinch, I think red-wine vinegar would've been a better substitute — the white-wine version didn't feel complex enough.

Finally, I tossed my ingredients with the dressing and finished it with a pinch of salt (it seems Garten is a big fan of salting her salads).

Garten's recipe called for mixing all the ingredients at once, but if I make this salad again, I'll wait to add the Marcona almonds — they quickly got lost at the bottom of the bowl.

The final salad was tasty but took over an hour to prepare.

Bird's-eye-view of a metal bowl filled with arugula, carrot pieces, cranberries, nuts, and cheese. The ingredients are covered with a creamy-looking dressing. — I enjoyed the maple-roasted-carrot salad, but it took a while to make.
Moriah House

I enjoyed the balance of light, zesty citrus and hearty roasted carrots. The Marcona almonds and goat cheese added an elegant touch.

Garten's maple-roasted-carrot salad would make a lovely side dish for a fancy meal.

However, it won't be in my weekly rotation due to its expensive ingredients (like the Marcona almonds and goat cheese) and the extra time required for roasting the carrots.

Finally, I made Garten's tricolore salad with oranges.

A wooden cutting board filled with several bowls of salad ingredients. The bowls contain arugula, shallots, olives, olive oil, cabbage, and orange wedges. — The tricolore salad with oranges called for olives, arugula, radicchio, and endive.
Moriah House

Garten's tricolore salad with oranges called for endive, radicchio, a cup of shallots, four oranges, 3 ounces of arugula, and 2/3 cup of kalamata olives.

I appreciated that this recipe didn't require me to purchase a large container of cheese or nuts.

I macerated the shallots, which didn't take long at all.

A hand holding a jar of oil pouring into a small white bowl of sliced shallots on a wooden table — Macerating the shallots was a pretty simple step.
Moriah House

After slicing the shallots into thin rings, I placed them in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of apple-cider vinegar to macerate.

The recipe said to let them soak for 10 minutes, so I set them aside while I prepared the other ingredients.

I made the dressing with five simple ingredients.

A hand holding a small whisk stirring a vinaigrette on a wooden table. The vinaigrette is a pale beige color. — The dressing for the tricolore salad with oranges was pretty simple.
Moriah House

Next, I whisked together the simple dressing — half a cup each of olive oil and lemon juice, half a teaspoon each of pepper and Dijon mustard, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

I tossed everything together in a large bowl and finished the salad with a sprinkle of salt.

Bird's-eye-view of a metal bowl filled with salad ingredients, including arugula, orange wedges, sliced shallots, and olives — I wasn't sure how everything would taste, but the salad looked beautiful.
Moriah House

Finally, I removed the shallots from the vinegar with a slotted spoon and combined them with my other ingredients in a large bowl.

Again, I finished the dish with Garten's seemingly signature sprinkle of salt.

The final salad was both delicious and beautiful.

Bird's-eye-view of a bowl of salad holding arugula, oranges, red cabbage, and olives — I loved the combination of purple radicchio and green arugula.
Moriah House

I loved making and eating Garten's tricolore salad with oranges. It was simple to throw together, and the contrast of purple radicchio, bright oranges, and green endive looked beautiful.

The zesty dressing and elegant endive and radicchio paired perfectly with the sweet oranges and savory olives.

Garten's tricolore salad was the winner.

Garten's Cape Cod chopped salad and maple-roasted-carrot version were both tasty. Still, her tricolore salad with oranges was the clear winner in simplicity, uniqueness, and aesthetic appeal.

It's now a staple in my summer dinner rotation. I'm looking forward to pairing it with main courses, like her three-ingredient chicken, for a delicious seasonal meal.

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I made 3 of Ina Garten's salad recipes —the best felt the fanciest but was the …