How to Make a Good Salad
I have enjoyed fresh greens, but after simplifying my salads, I fell a disconnect from the basics. Adding globs of store bought dressing to bagged lettuce mixes wasn’t cutting it anymore. Here is a guide to making the best salad.
First Step: Choose Greens
Look for the freshest greens at your grocer. Pay attention for wilted or gnarly leaves. Here are some suggestions for choosing a type.
Arugula
Dark green leaf and member of the mustard family. Tastes peppery with a scent of pine. Spiciness intensifies as it ages.
Baby Greens
Basically young salads more delicate in flavor and texture. Varieties include amaranth, beet greens, bok choy, collards, and kale.
Cress
A member of the mustard family. Can range from peppery taste to hot. Varieties include watercress, garden cress, and curly cress.
Lettuce
Largest and most diversified group. Four groups of lettuce. They are:
Butterhead – Ruffled leaves with delicate flavor. Varieties include bibb, boston, and butter.
Iceberg – Tightly packed round head. Lighter green in color.
Looseleaf – Soft and tender. Varieties include green leaf, red leaf and oak leaf
Romaine – cylindrical upright lettuce with crisp ribs.
Step Two: Prepare the greens.
All greens should be washed well in an ice cold bath to remove debris. Make sure after they wash you dry the leaves well in the refrigerator for 30 min. A salad spinner helps here. Store whole leaves in a plastic bag with holes in the refrigerator.
Step Three: Make a Good Dressing
The best dressing are mixtures of good olive oil and vinegar. Balsamic vinegar can be used for a balsamic vinaigrette. To make a basic dressing, whisk together the oil and vinegar until they combined well. Other ingredients such as egg yolk, or Dijon mustard can be used to help emulsify the mixture. If you would like more flavor, add fresh herbs or onions. Be sure to toss well in a large bowl. Trust me, a 2 minute home-made dressing will taste so much better than dollops of premade dressing.
If trying to make a salad with more toppings, try not to add too many. Choose a few that work together, like Gorgonzola and bacon.
