Virtually anyone can make a salad, but preparing a really good one requires a lot of attention to detail. Seasoning the salad means adding flavored liquids to the green leaves and other vegetables (or fruits). Whether you decide to use a ready-made product in the bottle, or to prepare one at home, the knowledge of the art of seasoning makes the difference between a good cook and a fantastic one.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Wash and Prepare the Ingredients
Step 1. Choose fresh ingredients
- Green leaves should be crisp and bright in color. Avoid yellow and soft ones.
- The other vegetables or fruits must also be equally crunchy and firm.
- All the ingredients must be at the right degree of ripeness or at the maximum of their flavor. Tomatoes should be bright in color, apples sweet and juicy, melons ripe and fragrant, and so on.
- Some vegetables are best when tender and young. Cucumbers, eggplants, and pumpkins should be small, thin-skinned, and fairly young. Peas still in the pod should be purchased when the various bulges are barely visible.
Step 2. Wash and dry the ingredients properly
- You can find a lot of information online on how to clean lettuce and other green leafy vegetables.
- Rub the other ingredients under cold running water inside an equally clean sink. Also wash the outside of the melons with a stiff bristle brush before cutting them.
- Dry the vegetables and hard fruit with kitchen paper.
- Dab the leafy vegetables with kitchen paper or use a juicer.
Step 3. Cut, peel and slice the ingredients appropriately
- Detach and separate the smaller leaves from the stem. Remove any visible stems with your fingers.
- Cut the center grain of the large leaves with a sharp knife, and tear them into smaller pieces with your hands.
- Remove the outer leaves of the lettuce and iceberg salad and cut the hard and compact central part with a knife. Tear the remaining leaves into small pieces with your hands, or slice them with a sharp knife.
- Remove the roots, top, and stem from all other vegetables and fruits. Remove the outer leaves from the shallots, leeks, and onions.
- Peel the carrots with a potato peeler. Cucumbers and courgettes should be peeled with a curved knife if the peel is thick, otherwise you can slice them with the peel. Peaches must be peeled, while apples can also be left whole. The melon pulp must be removed from the peel.
- The pachino tomatoes must be left whole or cut in half at the most. The larger tomatoes, on the other hand, should be sliced or cut into wedges.
- Cut the washed and peeled vegetables properly using a knife and cutting board. Grab a recipe book to find out which cutting techniques are right for each ingredient.
- Keep the chopped vegetables in a clean bowl (or multiple bowls) until ready to season them. Keep them cold if you have to wait more than ten minutes.
Method 2 of 2: Add the Dressing
Step 1. Choose a large salad bowl that allows you to shake the ingredients well
Step 2. Choose your favorite dressing or make your own by following the instructions of a recipe
Step 3. Put the dressing in the salad bowl and shake it to sprinkle the edges of the container as well
Step 4. Add all the ingredients of your salad to the dressing
You can also set aside some vegetables to garnish the preparation at the end.
Step 5. Mix everything with clean hands or use two large spoons to lift and turn the salad
Push all the ingredients to the edges of the container to make contact with the dressing.
Step 6. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix the salad again
This step is often overlooked and, although optional, it can make the difference between a normal salad and an exceptional one.
Advice
- You can add spices such as onion powder, dried rosemary, garlic powder, chopped chilli, when you add the salt and pepper.
- Sometimes the salad is brought to the table without dressing, to allow each diner to be able to choose how to flavor it according to their tastes. Suggest that your guests put the dressing in the bowl first and then the salad, in this way it will mix better.
- The Ministry of Health says salads and vegetables packed in sealed bags with the words "already washed" or "ready to use" are safe for human consumption without further washing.
Warnings
- If you leave too long before serving the seasoned salad, it will become soft and flaccid.
- Store homemade condiments or open bottles of sauce in the refrigerator if you don't serve them immediately.
- Make sure your hands are extremely clean before using them to handle the salad.
