Simple Green Salad with Vinaigrette (original) (raw)

It's quick to prepare, light yet flavorful, and versatile enough to pair with everything from everyday dinners to summer BBQs.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

1 bowl

My everyday green salad is actually not my invention but rather a side salad dish that my family prepares to accompany any lunch or dinner.

This simple salad is truly a daily salad in my world, which comes together really quickly and can be served with most meals.

Global Food Recipes

with Spices and Herbs

Free E-Book available for a limited time. Grab yours now and get instantly inspired!

Your Free E-Book

was sent to your

E-Mail Address!

Please check your Spam folder

Jump to:

• TL;DR
• Lettuce Choices
• 📖 Recipe
• Dressing Tips
• Serving
• 💬 Comments

This green salad cannot be missed for any meal or at any event.

My mum would prepare this salad for lunch and dinner with various green salad leaves and a basic vinegar and oil dressing.

You can prepare this salad in 3 minutes every single day, and you won't have to compromise on taste or fresh raw nutrients.

TL;DR

Basically, the green salad consists of fresh, raw green lettuce variations, topped with a simple French vinaigrette.

The vinaigrette is prepared by mixing vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper together. Another version is the mustard vinaigrette. You can make up your own green salad.

I usually stick to the most common green lettuce varieties or the lettuce that is growing in the garden during the summer months.

You can prepare your everyday green salad with the following lettuce varieties.

Lettuce Choices

I typically prepare my green salad with the lettuce varieties that I enjoy the most, which are basically mostly romaine, green/red leaf, and butterhead lettuce.

Occasionally I will add some napa cabbage, iceberg salad, or rocket.

Yet, generally I keep it rather simple because I try to focus on the main dish, and I would rather not waste time in the kitchen.

Besides, the green salad tastes best the simpler you make it.

That means you can adjust and customize the everyday green salad to your liking, by picking the lettuce variety that you enjoy the most.

You don't need 10 lettuce varieties, once is enough too to make this salad a simple but essential delight to serve with most dishes.

• Green or Red Leaf Lettuce
• Romaine Lettuce
• Butterhead Lettuce
• Oak Leaf Lettuce
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Radicchio
• Lollo Rosso Lettuce
• Escarole
• Frisee
• Rocket (Rucola)

and some more ideas....

• Water Cress
• Tatsoi
• Little Gem Lettuce
• Mizuna
• Endives
• Spinach
• Dandelion Greens (I used dandelions here in this wildflower salad)
• Nappa Cabbage
• Kale Leaf varieties
• Chard
• Baby Beet Greens
• Mache (Lamb's Lettuce)
• Chrysanthemum Greens

📖 Recipe

For the Salad:

• ▢ 1 Handful Fresh Salad Leaf Varieties green or red, see in the post for salad leaf ideas

• Separate the salad leaves from the stem. Wash your salad leaves. If it's a salad from the garden or organic, keep the leaves in a bowl with water and a splash of vinegar, as this will get rid of any insects. If your salad is store-bought, make sure to wash your salad properly because of the pesticides used.
  1 Handful Fresh Salad Leaf Varieties

• Once the salad has been washed, place the fresh leaves into a salad spinner to get rid of the excess water.

• To prepare the dressing, grab a dressing shaker or a small glass container that seals well with the lid of a small milk bottle. Place the dressing ingredients into the bottle.
  1 Teaspoon Vinegar, 2 Teaspoon Oil, Black Pepper Ground, Salt to taste

• Shake the bottle with the dressing well and pour it over the green salad leaves in a bowl just before serving.

1. The dressing can be adjusted with the simple formula of ⅓ Vinegar and ⅔ Oil.
2. You can store all the salad leaves in the spinner or in a glass container with a lid and that in the fridge, because the salad leaves stay super fresh for a long in this container. That way you can take out the leaves you need anytime to use as a salad side dish. I usually turn the salad leaves into smaller bite-sized pieces and place them into a bowl.
3. Store the fresh leaves in a salad spinner and the dressing in a dressing shaker. Don't pour the dressing over the salad and refrigerate for a longer period because the salad will get soggy, lose its crispness and will turn bad faster.

Nutrition Facts

Simple Green Salad with Vinaigrette Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 82 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Trans Fat 0.03g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 5g

Sodium 4mg0%

Potassium 182mg5%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 2484IU50%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 27mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Dressing Tips

For the salad vinaigret te dressing, I mix ⅓ vinegar with ⅔ oil to create any quantity of this simple vinegar-oil dressing.

I like to use apple vinegar with sunflower oil, but you can also use another vinegar variety. Vinegar is the ultimate ingredient in this salad dressing.

Using a good-quality vinegar is crucial. Personally, I enjoy homemade vinegar in my salad.

Even home-infused vinegar, such as my herbal vinegar. But of course, I always look out for local vinegar variations whenever I travel to a new place.

To me, the acidity that vinegar lends my dishes is super important, so I will always pay a little more for the better bottle contents.

• Apple Cider Vinegar - Classic vinegar choice and quite common. I like the strong flavored Apple cider form the Normandie region in France.
• Rice Vinegar - Usually lighter in taste, this vinegar tends to mix better and is not overpowering. Rice Vinegar has become a popular Salad Dressing Vinegar.
• Coconut Vinegar - This is a secret tip. Coconut vinegar is not fruity, but it does have excellent flavors and I enjoy it with my salad.
• Raspberry Vinegar - I always associate this vinegar with northern France, places like Amiens and Beauvais. My aunt there prepares fruity raspberry vinegar by infusing the berries.
• Tomato Espellete Pepper Vinegar - I haven't tried this one yet but I so want to! Espellete Peppers are a specialty in southern France bordering Spain. This vinegar should have a spicy Mediterranean touch to it.
• Champagne Vinegar - This vinegar is not that well known, but it really brings out the flavors of any dish. The vinegar with the green salad will find yourself craving more raw food soon enough.

Serving

You can serve the everyday green salad as a side dish with most meals and with that, I honestly mean most anything.

I had this salad with pizza, pasta, spicy Asian noodle dishes, lentil curries, beefsteak, and much more. Yet I think you might enjoy discovering these dishes with the everyday green salad.

• Flammekuchen - Alsatian French “Pizza” topped with cream, bacon, and onion. Countless topping alternatives are possible.
• Cheese Spaetzle - Homemade Spaetzle Noodles topped with cheese and onion. A Tyrolian (Austrian) dish.
• Classic Quiche Lorraine - We wouldn't serve our quiche for dinner without the evergreen salad and vinaigrette.
• Veal Cordon Bleu - Classic French cordon bleu with veal meat, stuffed with cheese and ham.
• Roast Chicken with Thyme, garlic, and mushroom - Usually a Sunday meal in my household. The everyday salad has to be served with this amazing classic dish!
• Butter Chicken - Unexpected divine combination with the green salad!