A Meatier Salad

 After a summer of not eating green, its time to embrace a earlier salad for those weather transition days. There's still the taste of summer yet it has the meatiness of a fall meal. There's all sorts of fun ingredients to add while boosting the flavor. 

New contributor and chef Ashley Lonsdale gave great suggestions and recipes in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday section. Salads can be boring It some kind of green, maybe tomatoes of any sort added in and dressing.Once in a while there broccoli or julienned ham. Dressings can be yawn inducing too - with most opting for a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. Chef Lonsdale recommends tossing in beans or lentils.A half cup of these add five grams of protein For a tastier salad,. crisps the beans with a sprinkle of olive oil in the oven They can be simmer in  a pot of green or black Beluga lentilsEven yellow lentils are God and the best part are that beans can last in  a salad for several days in the fridge.Cheese is another great add in and a also a good source of protein Try a scoop of cottage cheese or shredded mozzarella Parmesan or fetaDo the unusual like pairing the mozzarella with plums and dressing with a citric based dressing.Nuts and seeds also make a salad meatier. If you have time roast  or.toast them for a better, richer flavor.Any nut butter can be added to basic dressings for a different flavor. Real meat can be added in the form of shredded rotisserie chicken canned or fresh fish along with fresh or frozen shrimp.

Chef Lonsdale also has some tasty recipes to try out,There is a tomato avocad salad with a creamy feta dressing/ This has a surprise of toasted walnuts mixed in with the tomatoes of any kind and avocados. The dressing is a smooth blend of feta, lemon  juice and olive oil. Avocados are used in another hearty salad [It's paired with shrimp and Gem lettuce. The dressing has  unsalted peanuts garlic and sesame seeds. Homey and fennel seeds are also added to this along with olive oil as the base.Another seafood bowl is roasted salmon mixed with broccoli florets and jasmine rice The dressing is a simple one. Dijon mustard is mixed with Dijon mustard ,anchovy fillets and lemon  juice. Red onions and either watercress or arugula is also added for color and crunch. Chicken is added to tomatoes along with couscous.It;s jazzed up with cumin and ginger for some bite along with fresh lemon juice. Tasty salad, reminiscent of summer nights is a mix of plum and mozzarella.The dressing is fresh  lime juice  red wine vinegar and honey serrano chule gves it bite .There is olive oil but it's only drizzled on top at the end.

Salads can be fun and hearty at the same time. Add some protein ,Jazz up the dressings .Enjoy a tasty meaty salad that's the perfect transition bowl.