The most frequent thing I cook is a simple green salad. It goes with pretty much anything and is a quick solution if you’re like me and feel that a meal isn’t complete without greens in some form.
This is my recipe if I'm mixing up salad from scratch. These days I often keep a big bottle of my Go-To Salad Dressing in the pantry which I just take to the table and dress the leaves as we start to eat.
enough for: 2 as a side
takes: 10 minutes1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, rice vinegar or wine vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce, optional
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bag salad leaves
1. Combine vinegar, soy sauce (if using) and extra virgin olive oil in a medium bowl.
2. Toss leaves gently in the dressing using clean hands. Taste and season with extra salt if needed. Generally I find the soy sauce is enough.
Variations & Substitutions
different acid - sherry vinegar, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, red/white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, balsamic.
soy-free - skip the soy sauce and be more generous with the salt. Or try a dash of fish sauce instead.
leaves - pretty much anything you like. Watercress, baby spinach, all lettuce, rocket (arugula), basil, parsley, mint, baby kale, baby cavolo nero, brussels sprouts leaves.
additional flavourings - miso, mustard.
other potential additives - shaved parmesan, goats cheese, finely sliced ripe grapes, shaved pear, nuts, seeds.
Prepare Ahead?
You can mix the dressing days or weeks in advance and it will keep happily in the pantry. But you really need to eat asap once the leaves are 'dressed' because they wilt quite quickly.
Problem Solving Guide
dressing not sticking to the leaves – usually this is a sign the leaves weren’t completely dry after they were washed. Next time spin dry in a salad spinner or pat really well with paper towel.
too oily – you’ve got too much dressing. Toss in some more leaves if you have them or transfer to a clean bowl and toss again so some of the excess dressing comes off onto the sides of the bowl.
too dry - not enough dressing for the amount of leaves. Mix up a little more dressing and add to the leaves a little at a time. Keep the remainder of the dressing in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
Pretty much works with anything savoury.
Variations for Serving Sizes
As long as you have a bowl big enough to comfortably toss the leaves in the dressing, you can easily increase this recipe. Once you get past about 8 servings, best to make it in batches - unless you have a truly giant salad bowl.