Basic Green Salad with Vinaigrette

Reclaim simplicity in your kitchen with this quick and easy recipe. You'll be having a green salad with or even FOR dinner regularly with this simple-yet-amazing green salad using a vinaigrette dressing from Mollie Katzen and techniques inspired by Alice Waters. Ditch the iceberg lettuce and bottled dressing full of processed ingredients. Instead choose leafy lettuces, spinach, and other tender greens, harvested as freshly as possible! Ingredients with an asterisk (*) are available seasonally right here in North Iowa! Click on select ingredients to find them nearby or stop by your local farmer's market.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 333 kcal

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • Large Bowl

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the vinaigrette. Combine oil, vinegar, salt, and garlic in a jar. Cover tightly with a lid and shake well. Refrigerate until ready to use (lasts a couple weeks!).
  • Prepare the greens: Rip all the greens into small pieces with your hands. Knives, even nylon lettuce knives, are likely to bruise your greens. Put into a colander or basket of a salad spinner and rinse very well. Soak if very dirty, then rinse thoroughly. Dry in salad spinner and/or by shaking colander. Dry again with paper towels. You want very, very dry greens.
  • Test your dressing: use a clean, dry leaf and dip it into your dressing and taste. Adjust salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed.
  • Put greens into a large bowl. Begin gently pouring some of the dressing on top of the greens and use your hands to gently coat the greens until they are evenly covered. Reserve your dressing for future greens!
  • Note: customize your dressing by experimenting with various additions such as: lemon, minced herbs*, dijon mustard, mayo, shallots* 

Notes

Yield: Large bowl of salad
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food (Alice Waters), Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen), and Salt, Fat, Acid Heat (Samin Nosrat)

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 1gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 397mgPotassium: 116mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 380IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
Keyword arugula, greens, radishes, spinach