Salad days
I have made this salad for dinner every day this week. Six days running now, to be precise. Even for me, it’s a record in monotony.
The truth is: I’ll eat it for another six days, probably, if there isn’t an intervention. It’s that good. Some iceberg lettuce gets shredded and tossed in a bowl (I know iceberg lettuce has a bum rap from its appearance in one-too-many soggy chef salads, but it’s sorely misrepresented – its cold, crisp, elegant crunch is a winner in this salad); half a lemon gets messily squeezed over top, along with a glug of really good fruity olive oil, and a generous toss of fine sea salt. All this gets mixed together and dressed up with slices of avocado, how much depends on how decadent you’re feeling – I use quarter-to-half a fruit – and lashings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and some cracked black pepper.
It is a salad that sings – the cold, crunchy lettuce against the creamy avocado, the salty cheese and tart lemon, and the olive oil marrying the ingredients together. It is a salad at which I will happily declare my love: I’m an easy girl to please.
The grocery clerk has started to look at me funny, with all these heads of lettuce and lemons and avocados balanced precariously in my arms, but no matter. These are my salad days.
Green Salad
(makes one plentiful serving)
Ingredients
1/2 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 medium lemon
a glug of your best olive oil, about 1 generous Tbsp
1/4 to 1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
fine sea salt, a generous pinch (~1/2 tsp)
Parmigiano Reggiano, a few generous lashings
coarse black pepper, to taste
Place shredded lettuce in a shallow bowl. Juice the lemon over the lettuce generously and with all your might – the lemon is a key component of this salad. Add the sea salt and douse with olive oil. Toss gently to coat lettuce, and taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Arrange slices of avocado and the cheese over top, and finish with black pepper, to taste. The salad is a meal on its own, but I imagine it would be nice draped with a piece of fish, too – some grilled salmon or another similarly-fatty fish.
[...] content with routine and find comfort in habit – making the bed, the walk to work, eating the same bowl of salad 6 nights running - because it’s delicious (the salad, life) so why [...]
Wanted to exchange some awesome salad recipes. I just prepared this one last night for an app . it was an experiment that turned out surprisingly good: JICIMA FRUIT SALAD…this is savory and refreshing…perfect for summer!!!Ingredients 1/2 tbsp ginger, peeled & grated . 6 c baby spinach . 2 tbsps rice wine vinegar . Dressing .1 tbsp yellow miso (soybean paste) .1 tbsp water .1 tsp canola oil . 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce .2 tbsps sesame seeds . 1/2 c red onions, thinly sliced . 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil . 1/2 tbsp sugar 1 c tangerines, sectioned (substitue oranges) .1 tbsp green onions, sliced finely . 6 c jicama, peeled & cut into strips. Directions Step #1 Combine water, vinegar & miso, whisk until smooth. Step #2 Add remaining dressing ingredients to mix, then set aside.Step #3 Combine jicama, spinach, tangerine & red onion. Step #4 Pour dressing over salad, & toss to mix, sprinkle with sesame seeds.Step #5 serving size in 1 1/4 c. Enjoy your meal