by Joyce Peters
Salads add variety and crunch to any meal. I did not grow up eating salads. I think that families whose roots are in countries where clean water is not readily available, don’t eat raw produce without hesitation. Luckily in the United States, the water is potable. Also, growing up on the East Coast, flavorless iceberg lettuce was the only choice. The dressings were all bottled. I love green salads now especially with the variety offered by my home garden.
When I purchased produce for a school nutrition program I was warned by a produce company owner not to eat packaged salad greens raw without rinsing first unless the label states “washed, ready to eat”. Triple-washed is no guarantee of safety. (I won’t go into my experience with salad bars in high schools. Best to be first in line.) Obviously I’m a little fussy about my salads. I generally stick to homemade salads and curated ones from a well-run restaurant.
Tips for great green salads
- Use fresh flavorful greens. Discard yellow or wilted leaves, and definitely the slimy ones.
- Wash in advance and dry. Wet greens make a soggy salad and will repel oil-based dressings.
- Adding too many other ingredients will risk overwhelming your greens but here are some suggestions:
- Add other vegetables for variety, fresh or cooked, sliced thinly to keep them from sinking to the bottom. High moisture vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers should be added just before serving.
- Try rich ingredients such as olives, avocado, cheese or toasted nuts/seeds.
- To turn your salad into a complete meal, add protein foods like thinly sliced steak, cooked beans or shredded cooked chicken. Add grains like pasta or rice.
- Add fruit for a change of pace.
The dressing
- Homemade dressing is the best. Bottled dressings use emulsifiers to prevent the oil and vinegar from separating quickly. For homemade dressings add a little mayonnaise, dijon mustard or molasses to stabilize the dressing for a little longer. Otherwise just remember to shake well before adding to the salad.
- To mellow the taste of onion, garlic or ginger (if used), let them soak in the vinegar or lemon juice for at least 10 minutes before adding the oil.
- As you prepare your dressing, taste it. It should be a little saltier or sour than you like. When mixed into the salad, it will be just right.
- To dress your salad, pour dressing lightly on top and toss lightly. An even better method is to pour along the sides of an empty bowl. Then add your salad and toss lightly.
Vinaigrette type salad dressings are usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar (acid) ratio but you should find your ideal ratio. The recipe below starts with a 1:1 ratio. Depending on the flavor of the acid ingredient, you may want to add more oil. Balsamic vinegars that have been aged for a long time will be thick and concentrated, more oil will be needed. Some olive oils may have a sharp flavor, then use less.
Vinaigrette dressing
¼ cup vinegar e.g. red wine, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar
optional – 1 clove garlic finely minced; soak in the vinegar for 10 minutes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ – 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional – herbs and spices like oregano, thyme, pepperoncini to taste
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl or place in a tightly lidded jar and shake. Adjust as needed by tasting a little on a leaf.
For more tips to elevate your salad see this America’s Test Kitchen video: