Subway Friendly Salads

When writing the title for this post, I hesitated to include the word subway, as I didn’t want you to think I was talking about the less than favorable sandwich chain! I’m actually talking about the subway, as in public transportation. Maybe I should back up a bit?

Last week I went to a dinner party at my friend Carey’s apartment. I brought a salad for a group of 10 or so. Since the subway is my main form of transportation, I didn’t feel like carting some massive bowl and a separate container for dressing all the way to her place in 100° weather.  The salad needed to fit nicely in a large Tupperware container and ideally already be dressed.

This whole situation got me thinking about the best salads to carry when traveling on public transportation- one’s that taste even better when dressed ahead and can easily be thrown in a Tupperware container, while still working well for a crowd. Whether you’re a city dweller or not, these are my simple summer go to salads for pot lucks and entertaining:

• Israeli/ Greek Salad: 3 large tomatoes diced, 1 English cucumber diced, 1 cup kalamata olives roughly chopped, 1/4 cup minced red onion, 3/4 cup feta cheese, 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Gently toss together all ingredients. Dress with1/3 cup olive oil, 2 T red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad:  3 large tomatoes diced, 3 ears of kernels sliced from the cob, 2/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, 3 strips of cooked bacon roughly chopped. Gently toss together all ingredients. Dress with1/4 cup olive oil, 2 T red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. (Can sub out bacon and add avocado!)
•  Grapefruit and Avocado Salad: 3 large avocados slides lengthwise, 5 grapefruits- segments removed. Layer the ingredient in a Tupperware container and dress with 1/3 cup olive oil, juice of half a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste

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