In case you were wondering…

The Anatomy of a Great Salad

1. Greens– anything from spinach to a mesclun mixture will work. Just pick out something fresh and crisp and rich in color. Avoid lighter-green, cabbage based lettuces like iceberg as these have little flavor and virtually no nutritional value.
2. Salt– The easiest thing to do here is use cheese- go for hard cheeses like sharp cheddar or parmesan, or crumbly ones like feta, bleu, or chevre. You could also use a meat like prosciutto  or smoked turkey.
3. Sweet– Now this may seem counter-intuitive, but fruit is awesome in a salad. Raw fruit is great, but you can also try sautéing it with 1/2 a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of sea salt – berries, peaches, apples, pears, plums and apricots and melon are all delicious. I wouldn’t recommend bananas, but then again I really, really hate bananas.
4. Crunch– Nuts or croutons work here. If you’re using nuts, put them in a small frying pan and toast them over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until they become fragrant. The heat helps release a lot of the nuts’ flavor. 
5. Dressing– I  make my own using  2/3 olive or nut oil (never vegetable), 1/3 flavored vinegar (anything but white- I like balsamic, champagne, or tarragon vinegars), salt and pepper. If you’re feeling ambitious, throw in a tablespoon or two of dijon mustard and some minced garlic or shallot. If your feeling lazy, go out and buy any balsamic vinaigrette.

 

Honestly, a salad is about the easiest thing in the world to make. So,  for the benefit of even the most culinarily disinclined individual, I’ve just jotted down a simple formula that guarantees a delicious salad, every time– but, obviously, this isn’t the only way to do it. Many awesome salads are vegetable, and not lettuce, based. They include proteins and two salts and no crunch and are still just as good. The nice thing about my method, though, is that it is flexible to the current contents of your fridge, it takes away the rigidity of a ‘real’ recipe and allows you to be creative, and it is, without fail, always delicious. If you don’t like open-ended directions though, here’s a great recipe from Food & Wine magazine. Otherwise… go enjoy.