How to Prepare Cuban Salads at Home and Should Avoid these Mistakes

Is your salad turning out bad every time you plan to make one? Then either you are doing it or you are not doing it correctly. I jest but in all seriousness, if you are not being able to make delicious salad then you should keep on reading.

In this article, I will show you how to prepare Cuban salads at home and should avoid these mistakes so you can make them salads and impress your family and friends.

Common Mistakes When Preparing Cuban Salad At Home

Let us find the common mistakes that should be avoided when making a salad at home.

1. Salad Dressing

Make sure not to put too much dressing before you toss your salad. Toss by circling from the outside of the bowl so that the dressing gets evenly mixed with the leaves. Don’t put clumps of dressing at the same time this will not properly mix and make your salad all clumpy.

2. Too Many Ingredients

We generally do experiment with salads at home, but this may result in a disastrous resulting meal. It is an excellent practice to add one item at a time and taste the salad so you will know which ingredients match your taste. With you a few tries you will end up with a beautifully tasting salad.

3. Pull don’t cut the greens

Cutting the greens bruises them so pull them off instead of chopping them with a knife. Pulling them greens will ensure that your salad won’t fall apart and that you can properly enjoy your meal.

Don’t miss out on this recipe: 5 Amazing Cuban-style Salad

4. Cutting the veggies the wrong size

When eating a salad you want to have a bit of everything with each bite but if you cut the veggies the wrong size then you won’t be able to enjoy the salad properly. So make sure you are aware of the size when cutting.

5. Don’t add the croutons early

If you like soggy croutons then by all means add the croutons early and let them soak in all the water from the veggies. The trick to croutons are you serve them right before you are about to serve.

6. Variety of textures

Giving texture to your seemingly the same salad will add more, well, texture. If you are in the mood to experiment then this is the place to experiment with your salads. For example, you can introduce crunchiness to your salad by adding nuts to it or dried fruit which will give the salad a unique variety of texture.

7. Not prepping the onion

No one likes the taste of raw onion, at least I don’t so rather than putting in raw onion I always like to prep it first and then add them. I soak the onion in vinegar for 10 minutes so that the taste profile changes and the salad also become flavorful.

8. Not tasting the dressing

Taste, as you go, is the hallmark of a good chef so if you don’t taste the salad while making then there is a high chance the salad will be left alone and it will end up in the bin. Taste the salad after you complete a step and season as you go to match it to your liking.

9. Overdressing or underdressing

You don’t go out of your house to a party overdressed or underdressed on that very principle you should not overdress your salad to make it all soggy nor would you want a dry salad that your guests will have with a fake smile on their face. Make sure you keep it so you can avoid this crucial mistake.

10. Buying store-bought ingredients

Making salad dressing at home is an easy task to undertake. So when you have the opportunity to make a salad dressing at home and impress your friends why buy the same dressing they can buy from the store?

What Are The Things To Consider In Preparing Cuban Salads

Let us find out the mistakes when preparing Cuban salad at home.

1. Use the correct bowl

Use of the correct bowl to toss your salad is vital if you use a small bowl then you will have a hard time tossing your salad. Finding the correct bowl is one of the things to consider when preparing Cuban salads.

2. Not to add the ingredients after dressing

You should always add a few of the heavier ingredients after you are done with the salad dressing as you run the risk of them falling on the bottom of the bowl and you have to fish them out later.

3. Not properly seasoning the salad

Seasoning is the most important part of any cooking. If you don’t want your salad to taste bland and tasteless then you should not taste as you go. If you want your salad’s flavor profile to rise to the level it deserves then you should make sure to taste and check if the salad is properly seasoned.

4. Not washing and cleaning the greens

The dreaded washing and cleaning the greens is a must. You don’t want your guest to bite down a pebble or dirt when they are enjoying your delicious salad. So rather than be in an embarrassing situation you should always clean and dry the greens. Drying makes sure that your salad doesn’t get soggy. Adding peppers will also enhance your salad-eating experience.

5. Using store-bought croutons

You can make the croutons at home by simply cutting small bite-size bread and then sprinkling some oil and garlic powder, salt, and pepper then baking it for 15–20 minutes a 375°F will give you the same taste as the store-bought ones. After making the croutons you can transfer them to an airtight container and keep them till you going to make the salad.

Probably you also love Cuban food right? Read my another article on traditional Cuban foods

Conclusion

Now you know how to prepare Cuban salads at home and should avoid these mistakes when you read this article from top to bottom.

If you remember to consider the things pointed in this article then you will be able to have tasty salads that you will be proud to share with your family and friends.

Best of luck!