Salads and Dressings
Cooking Skills: Vegetables 1
Chapter 7 · Salads and Dressings
Skill goal
Build a salad with crisp leaves, a balanced dressing and the right timing.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A salad is an arrangement of cold or warm vegetables, with a dressing that brings them together. What separates a boring salad from a good one is rarely the ingredients. It is dry, crisp leaves; a balanced dressing; seasoning; and timing.
Crisp leaves
- Wash and dry. A salad spinner is the best tool: wet leaves dilute the dressing.
- Crisp them in cold water for 10 to 15 minutes if they are limp, then dry them and keep them in the fridge wrapped in a cloth.
- Tear soft leaves (lettuce) with your hands and cut tough ones (cabbage, kale) thin. A knife can bruise soft leaves.
- Mix leaves for flavour and texture: soft, bitter (rocket, chicory), peppery (watercress) and crisp (cos).
Vinaigrette
The basic dressing is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid, with salt, pepper and a little mustard (the mustard helps the oil and acid stay mixed). Some acids are stronger than others, so taste. Add more acid if it is flat, and more oil if it is sharp.
| Acid | Flavour | Good with |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon juice | Bright, fresh | Green salads, fish, leaves, grains |
| Cider vinegar | Fruity, mild | Cabbage, coleslaw, apple, root vegetable salads |
| Red or white wine vinegar | Sharp, clean | Tomatoes, classic green salad |
| Balsamic vinegar | Sweet, dark | Roast vegetables, bitter leaves, strawberries |
Dress at the right moment
- Delicate leaves: just before serving, or they wilt.
- Tough vegetables (cabbage, grated carrot, kale): dress ahead and let sit, so they soften.
- Grains and potatoes: while still warm, so they soak up the flavour.
- Tomatoes: salt first, dress after.
Use less dressing than you think: start with a teaspoon or two per portion, toss, and add more if needed.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Green salad with vinaigrette
The simplest salad and the base for all the others. Making the dressing in a jar means you can shake it.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 round lettuce or 2 handfuls of mixed leaves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- Wash the leaves, then dry them thoroughly in a salad spinner or between clean tea towels. Wet leaves dilute the dressing and make it slide off.
- Put the mustard, acid, salt and pepper in a jar. Add the oil and shake hard until thick and creamy.
- Taste on a leaf, not off the spoon, and adjust.
- Toss the leaves in just enough dressing to give a light coat, just before serving.
Dressings
Dressings: make fresh dressings the day you want them, keep them covered in the fridge, and use within 2 days. Don't leave garlic or herbs steeping in oil at room temperature: garlic in oil can grow the bacteria that cause botulism if kept warm or too long.
Level 1 · Practice
Tomato salad
With ripe tomatoes, nothing more is needed. The trick is salt, applied about 10 minutes ahead.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 3 ripe tomatoes in different shapes or colours (about 400 g)
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red or white wine vinegar
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Cut the tomatoes into wedges or thick slices with a sharp knife (a serrated one helps). Lay them on a plate.
- Season with salt and leave for 10 minutes. They give off juice and become sweeter and more flavourful.
- Add the onion, oil, vinegar and pepper, and tear over the basil. Spoon the juice over the top.
Level 2 · Grain
Couscous salad
Grains soak up dressing, so you can dress them while still slightly warm. Couscous is the quickest.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 100 g couscous (or bulgur wheat)
- 150 ml boiling water or hot stock
- ½ cucumber, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 handful chopped parsley or mint
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Put the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling water or stock, cover, and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Cool for 10 minutes. Mix the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir into the couscous.
- Stir in the vegetables and herbs, then taste and adjust.
Keeping it
Eat on the day, or chill quickly and eat within 1 day. Cooked grains, such as rice and couscous, should not stand at room temperature for long.
Level 3 · Warm
Warm roast vegetable salad
Warm vegetables absorb dressing better than cold ones, and slightly wilt the leaves. Set the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 red pepper, in strips
- 1 courgette, in thick slices
- 1 red onion, in wedges
- 150 g butternut squash, in 2 cm chunks
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 handfuls rocket or spinach
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic or cider vinegar
- 50 g feta or goat's cheese (optional)
- Toss the vegetables with the 1 tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper and roast on a large tray in a single layer for 30 to 35 minutes, turning once.
- Whisk the olive oil and vinegar with a pinch of salt.
- Put the leaves in a large bowl. Tip the warm vegetables on top, pour over the dressing and toss.
- Crumble over the cheese and serve at once.
Experiments
Experiment
Dressing ratio
How much oil?
- Make three small dressings with the same lemon juice and mustard: 1 part oil to 1 part acid, 3 parts oil to 1 part, and 5 parts oil to 1 part.
- Taste each on a leaf.
Look for: 1:1 is sharp, 3:1 is balanced, 5:1 is mellow and oily. Your own best ratio may differ with the acid.
Experiment
Dress early or late
Wilting.
- Dress half a bowl of lettuce 30 minutes before eating. Dress the other half just before.
Look for: The early-dressed leaves are limp and dark; the late-dressed leaves are crisp.
Experiment
Soak the leaves
Reviving limp leaves.
- Take two bunches of slightly limp lettuce. Soak one in cold water for 15 minutes; leave the other. Dry both well and compare.
Look for: Soaking brings back crispness to leaves that have lost water. It won't fix leaves that are slimy or rotten.
Experiment
Acid type
Four vinegars.
- Make four dressings with the same oil, mustard and salt, but with lemon juice, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
- Taste each on the same leaf.
Look for: Notice sweetness, sharpness and aroma. Write down which one you would choose for which salad.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green salad with vinaigrette | ||||
| Tomato salad | ||||
| Couscous salad | ||||
| Warm roast vegetable salad | ||||
| Dressing ratio | ||||
| Early vs late | ||||
| Soaking leaves | ||||
| Acid type |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Limp leaves | Dressed too early, or old leaves | Dress at the last moment; soak in cold water |
| Dressing separates | No emulsifier, or not shaken | Add a little mustard; shake or whisk harder |
| Too sharp | Too much acid | Add oil or a pinch of sugar |
| Flat salad | Not enough salt or acid | Season; add lemon juice |
| Watery bowl | Wet leaves, or salted watery vegetables early | Dry leaves; salt cucumber and tomato just before serving |
| Soggy grain salad | Too much liquid | Drain grains; measure the water |
Salad safety
Leaves and raw vegetables: wash everything that will be eaten raw, apart from packs labelled ready to eat (follow the pack). Dry leaves well, and use a separate board for salad and for raw meat and fish. Keep salads cold and don't leave them out for hours.Dressings: make fresh dressings the day you want them, keep them covered in the fridge, and use within 2 days. Don't leave garlic or herbs steeping in oil at room temperature: garlic in oil can grow the bacteria that cause botulism if kept warm or too long.
Knife safety: cut on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath), tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw), and cut round or slippery vegetables on a flat face so they can't roll. A sharp knife is safer than a blunt one. Never catch a falling knife. Cooking Skills: Knife Skills 1 covers all of this.
Leftovers: cool cooked vegetables quickly (within 1 to 2 hours), keep them covered in the fridge, and eat within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can dry and crisp leaves.
- I can make a vinaigrette from the 3:1 ratio and adjust it.
- I know when to dress different kinds of salad.
- I can build a grain salad and a warm salad.
- I store dressings and leftover salads safely.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Vegetables 1, chapter 8 is Baking, Stuffing and Gratins: filled and baked vegetables.