How to Dress a Salad

After chopping tomatoes, dicing cucumbers, slicing radishes and putting it all together with your favorite leaf lettuce, the last thing you want to do is improperly dress your salad. The following steps will give you some great ideas for the perfectly dressed salad.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Make the best vinaigrette with a three parts oil to one part vinegar ratio. Steer clear of a vinegar, such as an aged balsamic, that is too strong and will overpower the salad.
2. Add fresh herbs and spices to your vinaigrette to create a taste that especially appeals to you. Add the herbs and spices a pinch at a time and taste as you go to achieve the properly balanced dressing.
3. Dress your salad directly onto the greens with oil and vinegar. Make sure you use the vinegar first so that the taste penetrates the lettuce. If you use oil first it will coat the leaves and not allow the vinegar to penetrate.
4. Chill the bowls or plates on which you are going to serve your well dressed salad. Keep everything as cold as possible to retain the crispness that is so important for a tasty salad.
5. Mix your salad dressing and leafy greens in a sealed plastic bag. Shake the bag around until the dressing is evenly distributed and coats each leaf. This is a good way to avoid too much dressing in one spot and not enough in another.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid over dressing your salad by using approximately one tablespoon of dressing for every two cups of leafy salad greens.
• A great, healthy salad can turn into a huge amount of calories by using too much or the wrong kind of dressing.