Any enthusiastic eater, backyard gardener, or vegetable farmer will tell you that lettuces and greens have their own flavors and personalities. Indeed they do, and fresh, flavorful produce is important for making any salad good. But we all know it’s the dressing that makes the salad. From a simple bowlful of lettuce to an elaborate combination of greens with cooked veggies, proteins, grains, and cheese, it’s the dressing that pulls it all together, defining a salad’s character, sending it in one ethnic direction or another (or none), and complementing other ingredients so they can do their best work on your palate.
Dressing a salad often intimidates a cook—even our food-obsessed friends are quick to hand off the job to a willing kitchen helper. Whether you’ve been the cook or the helper, you’ll find this book to be a handy little volume. In it is a range of vinaigrettes and dressings, from traditional to modern, to help you indulge every salad-y whim. Looking for a buttoned-down, quiet, classic French vinaigrette to dress a simple green salad? We can do that. Need something with a touch more depth and mystery? How about a suave Pinot Noir or citrus, honey, and rosemary vinaigrette? Craving something rich? Look into our browned butter vinaigrette or toasted sesame dressing. There are dressings here to create salads for any mood.
Though some dressings in the book will strike familiar chords—ranch, blue cheese, Caesar—we modernize the old formulas a bit and create all new dressings with fresh, pure flavors and wholesome ingredients. We ditch heavy mayonnaise and sour cream and find creaminess in nuts and nut butters, tahini, and even bread. Moreover, we take full advantage of the array of international ingredients in today’s well-stocked grocery stores, from pomegranate molasses to miso to chia seeds. Combined with care and imagination, ingredients once exotic but now within easy reach can launch even a run-of-the-mill salad in exciting directions.
The dressing recipes are organized into three chapters: Bright, Bold, and Rich. Bright dressings are ones that sparkle with high notes; have fresh, vibrant flavors; or lean heavily on acidity for character. Bold dressings are high-impact, pack a lot of flavor into a small space, and are big-time attention-getters. Rich dressings are just as they sound—supple and sumptuous.
Since not every dressing matches with every type of salad green (for example, ranch dressing would crush delicate mesclun), each dressing recipe offers basic “Serve on” suggestions for building your salad—items such as greens, roasted vegetables, and fruits. Beyond that, we offer ideas for “Extras”—additions to make the salad more complete and garnishes to make it sublime. But keep in mind that our suggestions just scratch the surface, and there are delicious salads out there just waiting to be created.
The fourth chapter covers the last items to go onto a salad: Toppings. Think toasty, nutty, savory granola and crisp, irresistible fried shallots. Although garnishes such as these might be considered superfluous, a sprinkle of this or a scattering of that can elevate a salad from workaday to wonderful.
