Bon Appetit - October 2017

42  OCTOBER 2017 PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX LAU

BASICALLY

k

1― START CLEAN

Fill a spinner bowl, large bowl, or clean

sink basin with cold tap water, add the

greens, and agitate gently to remove grit.

Lift out and gently shake off excess water.

This also revives limp leaves.

4―ADD ACID BEFORE OIL

You have more control over the balance of

flavor if you drizzle the greens with the acid

first. Toss 10 loosely packed cups of greens

in a large wide bowl with 1–2 Tbsp. lemon

juice until evenly coated.

7―ADD YOUR OIL

Slowly drizzle 2 Tbsp. good-quality olive

oil over greens, then toss just to coat.

(You don’t want to wilt the greens!) If they

don’t look uniformly shiny, drizzle with

another tablespoonful or two.

3―KEEP IT COVERED

Cover the bowl of clean, dry greens

with a damp paper towel and chill in the

refrigerator until ready to use (up to

3 hours) so your leaves remain crisp and

cool and ready for salad greatness.

6―USE YOUR HANDS

We’re just going to say it: No matter how

careful you are, salad tongs can bruise

and tear delicate greens. It may be messy,

but using your hands to toss ensures every

surface gets coated with flavor.

2―DRY IT RIGHT

Spin dry. Don’t have a spinner? Place

two or three paper towels inside a plastic

shopping bag with a few handfuls of

greens and whirl the bag over your head

for several revolutions. Repeat until dry.

5―SALT, THEN PEPPER

Holding your hand high above the bowl,

sprinkle the greens generously with salt

and pepper, then carefully toss, making

sure everything is well distributed. Taste

and season again if needed.

8―PLATE LIKE A PRO

Gently scoop up the leaves with your hands

and place them on a plate, encouraging

them to stand tall in a pile. It should look like

the leaves magically fell from a tree onto the

plate already dressed. FOOD STYLING BY SUE LI

You’ve drizzled and tossed

a million times. But how do you

actually get an evenly dressed

salad while keeping the

greens nice and sprightly?

by CLAIRE SAFFITZ

Dress

Appropriately