The secret to a perfect salad is simple. It’s the lettuce and the layers you build with it. Let me explain. A truly good salad, one that is memorable leaves you wanting more (most of us don’t understand this feeling when it comes to salads) is a symphony of flavor and texture. It all starts with the lettuce. Never use iceberg never use romaine. We are really fortunate here in the Olympic Peninsula to be surrounded by local organic farmers. So we are able to source really great greens. The fresher the better. I realize not everyone can do this or has access to this so you can fake it. Look around your store and see what kind of variety they have. start with a base of butter lettuce. Add radicchio, parsley, fresh dill, arugula, red leaf, scallions… ) You are going to want to aim for at least 5 different types of greenery. When we shop I always look for produce with the greens still attached. These always go into our salad. Things like beet greens, leafy carrot tops, fennel fronds and celery leaves. These things are amazing and will all add dimension to your salad. I would avoid things like rosemary, sage, mint and tarragon though, they are very strong and will easily overpower your salad.
The next most important thing for your salad is fat. I’ve discovered over the years that fiber doesn’t do squat for keeping me full and satisfied. It’s good old fat. For this salad I use two things to accomplish this. The first is avocado and the second is cheese. Now if you are staying away from cheese then get some oil in that dressing but otherwise I generally go with a non cow cheese such as an organic sheep feta. About 1/2 an ounce is all you need.
The next layer are things that have inulin which is believed to be beneficial to your good gut buddies. My two favorite things are endive, onion and artichoke. Artichoke is one of those things that is labor and time intensive so I just make life easier and get a jar of grilled artichokes. We go through at least two a week and I’m happy to pay the 4.99 not to have to do the work on those.
Finally is both texture and dressing. My two standard go to items for texture are hemp hearts and a tablespoon of roughly chopped nuts. Pistachio being a favorite. Sprinkle those on last and maybe top with a touch more fresh dill. Oh while I’m on the topic, if you have only ever experienced dill as a bottle of sad dried up stands then it’s time you did yourself a favor and found some fresh dill. It’s sweet and delightful, nothing like it’s dried counterpart.
What you dress your salad with is your business. It’s about the salad so I’ll leave the rest up to you. I do have our favorite online though if you are interested, it’s a creamy lemon and dill (of course!) dressing. Oil and vinegar work just fine too. Top with fresh pepper if you have it and there you go. The perfect salad.
A few other things you might find in our salads include olives, basil, thinly sliced fennel and occasionally smoked fish. Speaking of onions, we love pickled onions, those are almost always in our standard green salad. We do have other salad ideas as well, like our arugula, fennel and apple salad, salad with fried goat cheese (grain free), beets and goat cheese… and more.
The Perfect Salad
Difficulty: Easy2
servings15
minutes5
minutes435
kcal20
minutesThis makes either a meal size salad for one person or if you are looking for something to accompany dinner, this is perfect for two.
Ingredients
2 – 3 Cups Mixed Lettuce Leaves
1/2 Small Avocado, sliced
1/4 Cup Artichoke hearts sliced
1/2 Ounce Soft Cheese like Feta or Goat
1 tsp Hemp Hearts
1 Tbsp Chopped nuts
Thin sliced onion to taste
Directions
- I’m pretty sure this is self explanatory. Have fun!
Notes
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