I love vegetables as much as the next Michael Pollan, but you know what I really love? Bread. Crusty, glutinous, soft-and-chewy-in-the middle bread.
There are plenty of so-called "wellness" experts out there who tell us we're not really supposed to eat bread—despite the fact that centuries of civilizations have relied on it as a central foundation of their diets—but I'm going to forge powerfully ahead and just internalize the self-loathing that comes from eating it.
If you're not a fan of internalized self-loathing or don't want to rack up a large therapy bill, here's a nice compromise: Turn your salad into a sandwich. Make a salad-salad sandwich.
There's a long history, of course, of 'salad' sandwiches. There are tuna-salad sandwiches, chicken-salad sandwiches...even whitefish salad on bagels. In that usage of the term, "salad" just seems to mean "any protein that's doused in mayonnaise."
But a salad-salad sandwich is a lot more vegetable and a little less mayonnaise. It's an actual salad. Turned into a sandwich.
My salad-salad sandwich days started in college, when I frequented an over-priced, mostly mediocre coffee shop that was located next to the building of my similarly over-priced higher education institution. There was one item on the menu that I loved: a kale-salad sandwich.
The sandwich went a little something like this: First, kale was marinated in a bit of oil and lemon juice, then tossed with shredded parmesan and maybe a bit of garlic. This salad got put on crusty toasted bread along with a thick layer of soft goat cheese.
While I don't have the exact recipe for the sandwich I ate in college, I've recently found myself riffing on it quite a bit. I take any salad of hearty greens and slap it on toasted bread that's been slathered in a soft, spreadable cheese. It travels well for a work lunch, wrapped in beeswax paper or in a lunch box. And it works nicely with leftovers: If I've made a big kale salad for lunch and know it's the responsible thing to do to consume the second half of it for dinner but can't bear the monotony, I toast some really good sourdough, schmear that sourdough with cheese, and slap the leftover salad on it.
This kind of behavior isn't unprecedented. Alice Waters supposedly enjoys a leftover-salad taco. And of course, this idea works for way more than just sliced bread. Any bready carb, like pita or (sorry) a Wasa cracker makes a good vehicle for salad.
Of course, bread and salad already go together in the form of croutons and—in really extreme cases, salads are even made of bread (we're looking at you, panzanella). So I realize I'm not starting a revolution here—I'm just trying to help everyone consume carbs.
Still, there are rules to the salad-salad sandwich:
Skip the tender greens
No Little Gem here. No Bibb lettuce. For the love of all that is holy, no mesculun—ever. You need something that is sturdy and that will hold up to the crusty chewiness of the bread. You want something that you can dress ahead without it wilting and getting soggy and limp and gross. Kale, radicchio, and crunchy romaine are my favorite options. And if you're feeling really insane, reach for a salad that's made out of something other than greens, like this celery-fennel number.
Use good bread
Save the squishy Wonder bread for the #slawmato sando. A salad-salad sandwich calls for a crusty boule, or some other bread your boyfriend who loves fermentation whips up. If the bread is truly crusty and fresh enough, you can probably go without toasting it. But honestly, toasting is never a bad idea—especially since it makes it easier to spread on the cheese (more on that below).
Always add cheese
Or another condiment-y sort of thing, like hummus or romesco, or muhamara, or a tahini sauce. A really spreadable marinated feta is great here. And, of course, soft goat cheese is classic.
Choose a simple salad.
When I make a salad sandwich, I often do it with this basic kale salad. You don't want anything that's too elaborate to prepare. The salad-salad sandwich is meant to be a quick and wholesome lunch. Super-savory, punchy salads are great too, since their flavors can fight through the bread. Look for recipes with anchovies, olives or brine-y, pickle-y bits. If you want to make a more elaborate salad and use the leftovers to make a sandwich, try something like this one with roasted squash and radicchio. Just skip the croutons. A salad-salad sandwich doesn't need 'em.
