I love salad. I try to eat it at least once a day, especially when I cook for myself. It’s a side dish that goes well with anything and is light, healthy and refreshing - so long as you stay away from store-bought salad dressing! There are some days that I make complicated vinaigrettes, but most days, I go with a simple Italian olive oil & vinegar combo. And, in true Italian style, I eat my salad last. If you’ve never tried it this way, give it a shot. Have your salad after your main course of meat, fish or pasta - it’s a really nice way to end a meal.

Recipe, tips and pics after the jump . . .

Ingredients
Red Leaf Lettuce - ripped in pieces
Red Pepper (or Yellow or Orange) - chopped
Grape Tomatoes - cut in thirds
Red Onion - diced
Cucumber (I like the Persian kind) - sliced
Mint - finely chopped

Dressing
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar OR Red Wine Vinegar OR Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Wash all of your ingredients and cut into bite size pieces.

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

3. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

4. Combine and serve immediately.

Tips
*When you drizzle the olive oil and vinegar, try to do it on the side of the bowl not directly on the vegetables.
**Most recipes have a 2:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. I do the opposite - that’s how I like it and I always get compliments on my dressing. If it’s too acidic for you, add a bit more olive oil.
***Never put dressing on salad too far in advance - the lettuce will wilt. Try to do it as close to serving as possible.
****Feel free to add any veggies or cheese that you want. This is just a base recipe that you can build on according to your taste and what you’re making with it.
*****Last but not least, when it comes to dressing, less is more. Most of the salads that you get in restaurants are drenched with dressing. There’s just supposed to be a light coating of dressing on the salad. You can always add more, but you can’t take away.

That’s it! Buon Appetito!

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