No-Recipe Salad & Basic Vinaigrette

Do you know how to whip up a quick greens salad to bring to the potluck, or simply enjoy for lunch? Here’s a basic rundown: 

Ingredients: 

Salad:

  1. Greens of some sort (could be lettuce, baby greens, or even microgreens!) 
  2. Your choice of toppings: seasonal vegetables, fruit, proteins, funghi, etc.

Vinaigrette: 

  1. Neutral oil (think extra-virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, etc.) 
  2. Vinegar of choice 
  3. Garlic and/or mustard 
A small spinach salad in a bowl with carrots and apples

Place your greens in a bowl, and prepare your other ingredients. Think about mouthfeel – should you cube your apple for crunch, or would you rather have delicate slices? Toss all your add-ins together with the greens until well-mixed. 

A bowl of salad topped with carrot coins and apple slivers
Try both fruit and veggies in your salad!

Add one part vinegar to three parts oil in a separate small bowl or Mason jar. Here’s where proportions are more important than precise measurements – if you make too much, no biggie! Vinaigrettes keep in the fridge for a week and can be used for more than salads, such as marinating chicken for the grill. 

Before
After: Emulsified!

Your vinaigrette just needs a binder to be complete. This works with garlic or mustard because of the lecithin found in each, which acts as a binder in the culinary world. A squirt of mustard is great, or use freshly sliced or minced garlic. How much? Enough to emulsify, or bring together, the oil and vinegar for the time it takes to dress your salad. Start with a tsp, shake or whisk, and go from there. 

Lastly, dress your salad. Pro tip: dress the bowl, not the salad. Go around the bowl once, toss, and use your best sense to judge the level of dressing. 

Last step: enjoy!