In summer, I grow a variety of salad greens and fill a basket with assorted leaves in the late afternoon, when the temperature starts to cool. But you can also buy superb salad mixes at your local farmers’ market, where there are usually numerous excellent assortments, most of which are organic. As well, many grocery stores have good produce sections and often carry organic salad mixes.
A word of caution: Salad mixes do not have a long shelf life and should be purchased on the day you intend to use them. If the salad greens in the produce section look tired, don’t buy them! Ask the produce
manager if there’s anything fresher in the cooler and see if that is any better. Otherwise, see if there are any whole heads or bunches of greens that look fresh and interesting, and make your own mix. I usually choose from such varieties as frisee, endive, radicchio, arugula and watercress.
Note that I only use 1 tablespoon of oil for this recipe. I like salad that isn’t swimming in heavy dressing. And one of the things I like most about using fresh salad mixes is that they only require small amounts
of oil to coat them.
6 to 8 cups mixed fresh salad greens
1 tbsp flavor-rich extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 oz blue cheese (e.g., Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Bleu d’Auvergne, Danish)
1 fresh lemon, cut in half
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Find a salad bowl that’s large enough to toss your salad without everything falling out of the bowl. Add greens to bowl. Add oil and toss gently but thoroughly until all the greens are coated. (I like a lightly dressed salad, but if you like more oil, add a bit more.) Once the salad is evenly coated, crumble the cheese into the bowl and toss again. Then add the juice of half the lemon and taste. If you prefer more acid, add more lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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