How to make the perfect salad-in-a-jar for lunch or supper
Mason jars are the new Tupperware.
Those old-fashioned glass jars with screw-on lids that seal tightly were once used for home canning. Now, they’re the environmentally friendly way to eat well when time is short.
The jars are easy to clean, odourless, reusable, and better for the planet than plastic. They are also a beautiful way to store salads at their peak of rainbow freshness.
You can make these on the weekend and enjoy them all week for lunch or a quick supper. They’ll stay fresh in the fridge for three days.
The idea is that the ingredients are layered in the jar along with the dressing, in a certain order so that nothing gets soggy. When it’s time to eat, dump the contents into a bowl, stir and enjoy.
Here are some tips for optimal salad-in-a-jar creations:
Always put the salad dressing in first, at the bottom of the jar.
On top of the dressing, put harder vegetables that will benefit from sitting in the dressing for a few days: chunks of celery, onion or bell pepper, shredded carrot or cabbage, whole grape or cherry tomatoes (don’t cut tomatoes, they’ll quickly go soft)
Over that, add your layers of protein: beans, seasoned meat, grated cheese, nuts.
Last of all, put in lettuce, spinach or other greens. They’ll stay crisp away from the dressing.
If you want to include apple, pear or avocado, brush the pieces with lemon or lime juice so they keep their colour.
Crisp ingredients such as croutons or tortilla chips should be stored separately in a sandwich bag and added to the salad just before you dig in. There is no other way to be sure they stay crunchy.
I’ve created a taco salad for you to try, with a homemade lime-coriander dressing. Being a vegetarian, I used imitation ground beef (made from soy protein) that was already seasoned and precooked, but you could substitute ground beef cooked with chili powder and a pinch of cumin.
Other salad meal ideas you might also enjoy, with ingredients listed in order of placing them into the jar:
Greek: vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber chunks, black olives, feta cheese, lettuce;
Asian Noodle: homemade dressing of oil, vinegar, soy sauce and peanut butter, followed by layers of cooked ramen or soba noodles, slices of red bell pepper, shelled edamame soybeans, grated carrot;
Waldorf: mayonnaise dressing, celery, apples, grapes, walnuts, lettuce.
Have fun!
Taco salad in a jar with lime-coriander dressing
For the dressing: Juice of one lime. Handful fresh coriander leaves, rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel 30 ml (two tablespoons) vegetable oil 30 ml (two tablespoons) mayonnaise For the salad: 12 to 16 grape tomatoes 125 ml (half a cup) canned black beans, rinsed and drained 125 ml (half a cup) canned corn niblets, drained 125 ml (half a cup) ground beef, cooked until well-done with chili spices, then cooled 60 ml (quarter of a cup) grated cheese 6 to 7 fresh leaves Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces. 500 ml to 750 ml (two to three cups) crispy tortilla chips Have two clean jars ready. Blend the dressing ingredients together with a hand blender or food processor until creamy and flecked with green. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour half the dressing into the bottom of each jar. Place the whole grape tomatoes at the bottom of the jars, on top of the dressing. Carefully spoon in layers of beans, corn, beef and cheese, in that order. Fill up the rest of the jars with the torn lettuce pieces. Seal the tops tightly. Refrigerate until ready to eat, up to three days. Serve in a large bowl, with crisp tortilla chips on the side. Makes 2 servings.