Cypress-Fairbanks’ Entrée Salads
| Serves | 1 |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Dairy, Poultry, Vegetables |
| Menu Part | Salad |
Source: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Houston
This year, this Houston-area district is launching a new stable of entrée salads. While entrée salads aren’t new for the district, Brent Trudeau, production manager/executive chef, says his team worked during the summer to expand the options and meet the new guidelines of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
“I took advantage of market research done by big companies to find out what salads out there are really popular and fed off that,” Trudeau says. “We feature a different one every day. We’re moving toward possibly offering all of them or a few of them every day. The salads are prepackaged and offered grab and go.”
Each entrée salad is a reimbursable meal. The only challenging aspect of meeting the new regs was keeping within sodium guidelines, particularly with the dressings. “Sodium hasn’t been a problem so much in the past, but it is now,” Trudeau says. “There were a couple I had to pull off the board. We had a muffuletta-type salad, with an olive relish, croutons, provolone and ham. But it was just way too high in sodium. Everyone really enjoyed it, but we had to back off that one. The dressings I’ve pretty much got licked. I’ve got a honey mustard, balsamic vinaigrette and a cilantro ranch, which is a little higher in sodium. We make all the recipes except Caesar in house.”
Here’s the district’s new entrée salad selection:
Ingredients
Caesar Salad with Caesar packaged dressing (2 oz M/MA, 2 cup V
4 cups romaine
3 oz. chicken
1 oz. Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup portioned croutons
Spinach with Honey Mustard Dressing (2 oz. M/MA, 1 cup V)
4 cups baby spinach
1 hardboiled egg
1 oz. mozzarella cheese blend
1 oz. bacon
1/8 cup grape tomatoes
¼ cup purple cabbage
Honey Mustard Dressing:
Yield: 23 gallons
100 lb. honey
50 lb. Creole mustard
5 gal. water
Chef’s Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing (2 oz. M/MA, 2 cup V)
4 cups romaine lettuce
¾ oz. turkey ham
¾ oz. roasted turkey
½ oz. shredded cheese
½ hardboiled egg
1/8 cup grape tomatoes
1/8 cup shredded carrots
¼ cup purple cabbage
Cilantro Ranch Dressing:
Yield: 40 gallons
2 lb. seeded fresh jalapenos
60 bunches cilantro, leaves only
5 lb. fresh garlic
4 gal. water
120 lb. sour cream
120 lb. salad dressing
2 qt. fresh lime juice
2 lb. salt
1 oz. black pepper
Mandarin Orange Salad with Ginger Lime dressing (2 oz. M/MA, 2 cup V, ½ cup F)
4 cups romaine
½ cup Mandarin oranges
¼ cup chow mein noodles
1/8 cup shredded carrots
¼ cup edamame
3 oz. grilled chicken
Ginger Lime Dressing:
Yield: 68 gallons
15 gallons rice vinegar
20 gallons soy sauce
25 gallons ginger lime simple syrup
½ lb. fresh garlic
1 lb. ground ginger
½ gallon sesame oil
3 gallons fresh lime juice
5 gallons water
Southwest Chicken Salad with Salsa (2 oz. M/MA, 2 cup V)
4 cups romaine
¼ cup grape tomatoes
2.1 oz. chicken
1/4 cup salsa
½ cup black bean & corn salsa
1 oz. shredded cheese
½ key lime
Salsa
8 cases crushed tomatoes
8 lb. sliced onions (burnt) chipotle in adobo
3 lb. fresh garlic
30 bunches cilantro (leaves)
½ oz. oregano leaf
2 oz. ground cumin
2 lb. salt
4 oz. onion powder
1 qt. olive oil
Cranberry Apple Salad with Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette (2 oz. M/MA, 2 cup V, 1 cup Fruit)
4 cups spring mix
½ cup diced apples
¼ cup craisins
1/8 cup sunflower seeds, packaged in 1 oz. soufflé
2.1 oz. chicken
1 oz. shredded cheese
Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette
Yield: 42 gallons
15 gallons balsamic
84 lb. honey
3 lb. finely chopped fresh garlic
1.5 lb. salt
2 gallons water
4 gallons olive oil
3 gallons fresh lime juice
Steps
Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Chop jalapenos, garlic and cilantro. Add water with hand mixer. Combine all ingredients and Mix well.
Salsa
- Combine chipotle, garlic, cilantro and onions. Course puree with hand mixer/blender. Combine with tomato and cook to 165°F.