Thrill Diners
with Ethnic Salads

Curried Whole Wheat Pasta Salad

This pasta salad presents a great interpretation of Indian flavours, but in a familiar profile. Our chefs do a simple plus two of pineapple juice and curry powder to transform Kraft Signature Sweet Onion Vinaigrette into an Indian dressing. The vegetables are treated as they often are in Indian cookery: blanched or cooked for a variety of textures and flavours. Here, we see a mingling of blanched cauliflower and carrots, roasted eggplant, tomatoes, cooked green peas and red potatoes. For aromatics, they add coriander and mustard seeds. For a protein component, our chefs marinate tofu in the dressing, then coat in sesame seeds and sear it. "It's a pretty savoury salad," says Aliza Katz, senior corporate chef for Kraft Foodservice. "You could warm up the salad for service, or offer it at room temperature. It would be a great accompaniment to lamb, or a nice stand-alone pasta salad."

Chopped Chicken Fattoush Salad

Our chefs interpret this popular Lebanese salad, combining cucumber, red and yellow cherry tomato, grilled green onion, chopped romaine, red and orange pepper, toasted pita squares and shawarma seasoning (cumin, coriander, chili powder, cardamom, paprika). They steer Kraft Calorie-Wise Zesty Italian Dressing toward the Middle East with a simple plus two of lemon and lime juice. "It's a refreshing salad," says Chef Katz. "Bright and juicy. Fresh-tasting and crunchy."

Greek Olive-Whole Wheat Pasta Salad

This pasta salad turns to whole-wheat shells for structure and added texture. As a counterpoint to a hearty ingredient list, we toss it with Kraft Golden Italian Dressing. "The colour of the dressing is so vibrant, and it brings with it a great balance of herbs and vinegar," says Chef Katz.

Greek-Style Skirt Steak Salad with Grilled Romaine

Mintel Menu Insights, a leading market-research company, names Mediterranean among its top five food trends. This entrée salad captures the best of the Mediterranean: kalamata olives, sun-dried tomato, and feta cheese. For the protein component, our chefs marinate skirt steak in Kraft Greek Feta & Oregano Vinaigrette, adding a Mediterranean profile to this inexpensive cut of beef. This salad offers both perceived value and on-trend composition to diners. For a textural contrast, it's served with grilled romaine drizzled with the vinaigrette.

Korean Taco Salad Stack

Korean flavours are making significant in-roads into the zeitgeist. Here, our chefs present a Korean profile in an easy-to-understand taco stack. They marinate the beef in a deep, concentrated marinade, then dress the salad with Kraft Calorie-Wise Zesty Italian Dressing embellished with ancho chile, guajillo, hot sauce and cumin.

Mango-Cucumber Salad

A tropical salad perfect as a garnish or salsa, our chefs turn this salad toward Thailand with the use of green mango, a tarter choice that plays well against the Sweet Orange Curried Italian Dressing. For the dressing, they simply add orange marmalade and curry powder to Kraft Calorie-Wise Zesty Italian Dressing.

Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

This Soba Noodle Salad answers the pan-Asian trend with lively flavour, using Kraft Signature Oriental Sesame Dressing to bring out pleasing notes of soy, sesame and citrus. "The flavours here really wake up that fifth sense, umami, with the mushroom and the soy sauce," says Chef Katz.

Red Snapper and Udon Noodle Salad

This entrée salad responds to the twin mega trends of Pan Asian and seafood with a wonderful flavour combination. While familiar ingredients such as cucumber, celery and spinach keep the dish approachable, green onion, cilantro, mint, edamame, Kraft Signature Oriental Sesame Dressing and udon noodles give it that fantastic Asian profile.