How to make every salad The Perfect Salad™
The anatomy of a damn good salad
Summer is upon us – and with that comes so much produce. Every week, the farmer’s market is flooded with more and more fruits, vegetables, and freshly baked, aromatic bread. It’s overwhelming (in the best possible way.)
I’m someone who loves a good summer salad. Throw every in-season vegetable in there with an excellently tangy dressing and I’m sold.
That being said – there is a process to building my kind of dream salad. I need diversity in flavor. Texture. Color. No iceberg lettuce and out-of-season tomatoes over here.
So… allow me to introduce you to my very specific, objectively correct method. Following this equation will ensure you get a salad with so much textural complexity, Sweetgreen and Chopt will be sliding into your DMs begging for your secrets.
NOTE BEFORE WE START: Ensuring as much of your produce is in season as possible will help this salad pop,(and give you an excuse to hit up the farmers market) but as always, work with what ya got!
A Solid Green Base
I love curly kale, a spicy arugula, some finely chopped spinach, or even some cabbage. Different greens will complement dressings differently. Lighter, citrusy vinaigrettes perfectly complement arugula or spinach, while creamier dressings pair better with some kale or something a tad more cruciferous.
For my salad pictured here today, I’ve selected a head of romaine – my dressing is a mix between creamy and light, as it uses tahini as a base.
An Assortment of Vegetables
In the summer, I love water-rich vegetables. Today, I selected radishes and cucumbers. These give the salad an excellent crunch while also ensuring a diversity of color (and therefore, nutrients). The extra water is refreshing and hydrating in the summer. I also love some sautéed asparagus or broccoli, roasted brussels, or sesame-marinated mushrooms. Use this as a launching point and follow whatever your heart desires!
A Carb
A starchy carb is not always a designated necessity, it definitely makes the meal more satiating! I’ve been known to crumble up some crackers or add in some rice. Today, I chose to steam some Japanese sweet potato.
A Protein
I used to eat largely plant-based – and I still eat a bulk of plant-based sources of protein. Here, I chose some tempeh, which has a meaty texture and complex flavor. I marinated her in some coconut aminos and sesame oil and seared on a cast iron skillet.
A Crunch
This can be crackers, nuts, seeds – for this dish I selected dry roasted almonds.
Something Aromatic
Typically, I would have used a few herb sprigs – but here, I chose some finely diced fennel sprigs/greens. This keeps my “green” bites interesting – feistier, with more character.
A Tangy/Fermented Element
Kimchi!!! My all-time favorite fermented vegetable. I tossed a big chunk of it into my salad today. I also love Hawthorne Foods’ Ruby sauerkraut.
Finally, the glue that holds it all together – a killer dressing
I love a little kick in my dressings, but I also like to ensure that the ingredients in my salad still shine through. I like to keep my recipe relatively simple, so each ingredient is intentional and can be clearly identified. Today, my dressing consisted of approximated measurements of chili crunch oil, tahini, rice vinegar, and ground ginger. Mix it all together and drizzle over top before integrating it thoroughly.
My three takeaway tips for building the anatomically perfect salad –
Try your best to get some seasonal produce
Make sure you use a kick-ass dressing
Embrace veggie diversity! Mix in different textures, flavors, preparation methods.
The perfect salad is about texture, playfulness, experimentation. The “sad salad” need not exist when we have so much produce in season, so many combinations to try – the salad is an excellent place to start if you're working on cooking more intuitively rather than following a measurement-based recipe.
We’d love to see the creations you all come up with using this very precise and scientific method! Tag us or DM us and you just might get posted on our feed :)