The Salad
A friend once served a salad that we now refer to as “The Salad”. Amazing that I never thought of throwing these exact ingredients together into a salad before. It doesn’t sound unusual but if there is a salad heaven, this one should be there. The key players are romaine lettuce, slivered onion, feta cheese, and absolutely critical: one perfectly ripe advocado.
Tossed together with a tart vinaigrette, the advocado adds a lush creaminess that compels us to keep eating it. You can add other ingredients like roasted chicken, grilled salmon or shrimp, plum tomatoes, olives, whatever you like. With a meal or as a meal. It’s perfect on a hot summer day, or to remind us of summer on a wintry day.
The vinaigrette is one I make all the time. My friend Kirstie always wants me to make it when she’s serving a salad. I don’t usually measure but for convenience have put some measurements together. Wednesday’s NYTimes Dining issue featured a cookbook called “Ratio” by Bill Ruhlman. While the author admits that some of the ratios are only “borderline useful”, I like the concept: that he’s “saddened by the thought of cooks who are chained to recipes” and is trying to liberate them. Obviously recipes provide a form of communication, yet I think cooking is mostly common sense, combined with experimentation, learning from others and guided by our personal taste. We can allow recipes to spark our imagination by not following them to the letter. (Baking is probably an exception here!) A little of this, a bunch of that, yes, liberating!
The Salad
Serves Two Hungry People—Multiply if you’re having company!
Vinaigrette
Make first to allow the flavors to bloom. It’s quick, easy, and enhances your ingredients, allowing their flavors to shine through. To make it even easier, I shake vigorously in a small jar. It emulsifies beautifully. (Chill it while you make the salad.)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider or rice wine vinegar (I like Bragg’s acv, it’s good for you because it has ‘the mother’. Trader Joe’s makes a nice seasoned rice vinegar)
- 1 (heaping) tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- cracked sea salt to taste
- cracked black pepper to taste
- optional: splash of balsamic
- optional: pinch of good quality garlic powder or 1 small minced or pressed clove
- Measure all ingredients into an 8 oz jar and shake vigorously. Makes approx. 3/4 cup
Salad
- Romaine Hearts (I use organic already washed, half or 3/4 of a 9 oz pkg)
- 1/4 cup slivered red, white or sweet onion
- 1 ripe advocado
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, drained and crumbled(more or less to taste)
- 1-2 Plum tomatoes, sliced and diced
- any other ingredients you want to add, as suggested above, etc
- Tear romaine into bite size pieces and place in a medium size mixing or salad bowl. Cut the advocado in half then quarters and peel skin away. Rub a little vinegar, lemon juice or vinaigrette over it to keep it from browning. Dice the advocado. Crack a little sea salt and pepper over the advocado and tomato. Place all the ingredients on top of the lettuce. Before serving, toss well with vinaigrette, using all or less than all depending on other ingredients you’ve added to it. You need just enough dressing to lightly coat all of the ingredients.
