Salad Math

There's always something so good about a salad when you order it out and I've finally figured out the winning equation:

1. Dress the greens! 

If you grew up like me, you were raised to believe a salad is defined by any bowl of lettuce you pour dressing onto. The correct ratio of dressing:lettuce being 2:1. 

Wrong. All great salads start with a great (and not soupy-dressing) base! Just by tossing your lettuce in a fraction of that dressing will make a huge difference. Speaking of lettuces, keep it fresh! My favorites of the moment are curly endive and arugula, but more on that later. 

I've got a favorite dressing of the moment (see below for the recipe), but I'm not a dressing snob (aka subscribe-to-the-theory-of-balsamic-dressing-4-lyfe). I'll take it all - Thousand Island, Bleu Cheese, a solid Ranch. My point on dressing is, if you love dressing enough to drink it, then just drink it as a side. Don't drown your salad in it. 

2. An Egg.

Simple as that. I don't care how you take it. Hard boiled, fried, poached. It's essential. I'm the president of the Extremely Runny Yolk Appreciation Club, but I understand that not everyone's a fan. That's alright. Just don't skip the egg. It takes your salad from a sad bowl of rabbit food to an enviable meal. You're also an adult and it's time to make meals you actually look forward to eating.

3. Salt and Pepper!

Possibly the most important ingredient of a salad! Just because it's in the vinaigrette doesn't mean that's it! Salt and Pepper in the beginning, middle, and most importantly - the end! You'll be surprised by how much of a difference it makes to add a shower of salt and pepper to the top of your salad.

My BLT Salad of curly endive, jowl bacon, tomatoes, and a poached egg to top it all off.

And now for my dressing of choice at the moment! It's actually a recipe Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good and it makes a perfectly balanced (and super easy!) dressing. 

I always double the recipe and keep it front and center. 1-2 teaspoons of dressing will do for a serving of salad - and you can always add extra dressing on top if you'd like.

You Will Need:

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (or I've used honey too)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Just whisk together and refrigerate!

Happy Salad Making!