Build a layered salad in individual juice glasses or goblets. The recipe is easy:

• Pick any three salad items that can be cut into a tiny dice and will provide contrasting colors. Think red tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, radishes; orange carrots and bell peppers; yellow bell peppers and corn; white daikon and cucumber; green celery, green onions and other favorites.
• Add a thin layer of snipped fresh herbs: chives, basil, parsley.
• Choose a miniature leafy vegetable to garnish the top: baby arugula, shredded basil, microgreens or sprouts, or a chiffonade of radicchio or endive.
• Substitute the middle vegetable layer for a dairy layer: Greek yogurt or fresh goat cheese add a crisp white layer and more complex flavors. Or, as the sky’s the limit, add your favorite flavors: a layer of guacamole or a layer of salmon caviar, for example.

Express your creativity with a miniature
layered salad. Photo by Sarsmis | IST.

• For dressing, add a layer of pesto or a creamy dressing; or individually dress the diced vegetable layers before filling the glass.

This recipe is so versatile, you can make one every day of the year with different combinations. If your family members don’t like large, leafy salads, it’s a way to get them to eat a little bit of raw veggies. Who knows—they may ask for seconds.

Find more of our favorite salad recipes in our Gourmet Vegetables Section.