This is all you need for a good salad.
Image: (Scott Suchman; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky/Both for The Washington Post)
AS someone whose job is to help people cook smarter, better and faster, I’m keenly aware of the admonition “Do as I say, not as I do.” After some recent recipe testing, I started wondering whether I had been doing salads — particularly salad dressings — a little wrong.
I’ve written about homemade vinaigrettes and how to achieve a stable, emulsified dressing with interesting pantry ingredients. My colleagues have shared formulas for vinaigrettes and creamy dressings. All good advice.
But on a busy weeknight, am I really going to whisk up a carefully curated dressing that dirties another bowl or jar? Probably not. And do I usually have a bottle of store-bought dressing in the fridge? Again, probably not.
So in the interest of time — and adding more greens into our diets — I’m giving myself permission to simply toss a salad with lemon juice and olive oil, and call it a day.
This isn’t a new idea. I credit Nourish columnist Ellie Krieger and former assistant recipes editor Olga Massov with helping me appreciate that this simple combination is not “less than” a composed dressing.
Alex MacLaren, whose first cookbook, “We Use What We Have Recipes,” publishes in August, is also a fan. “You have the elements on hand… It’s fewer ingredients to purchase,” she says. “I’m more inclined to make a salad knowing I don’t have to purchase a salad dressing.”
While a good dressing can bring a salad together, “a simple mix of salt, good oil, and a squeeze of lemon is often all you need,” write Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer in their upcoming “Honey & Co. Daily.”
I love vindication for what ultimately distills to being lazy.
The approach is simple: toss greens with oil, your acid of choice, salt and, if desired, pepper. One key consideration is the ratio of acid to fat. “I like a tart salad,” MacLaren says. “I want it to smack.” She uses a 2:1 ratio of acid to oil, while others may prefer equal parts or slightly more oil.
As simple as it is, the order you add ingredients matters. When dressing a salad with oil and vinegar, it’s best to add the vinegar first, toss, then add the oil. This helps keep the greens crisp rather than soggy.
As for how much to add, for a standard bag of greens, “measure in tablespoons, not cups,” MacLaren says. A lighter hand ensures you won’t overdo it, and you can always add more. Season with salt and pepper, then adjust to taste. “Once you start tasting, you’re going to know what’s missing,” she says.
And while we’re streamlining salads, MacLaren recommends not overthinking the other elements. “It’s okay to just have lettuce salad” and not chop a single ingredient, she says. As long as you’re eating more salads, she doesn’t mind how you do it.
“Not every part of your meal has to be a recipe,” she says. “It’s okay to just get it done.”