Salads and dressings

A good salad can be a full meal, not a side dish. Build it in layers, dress it well and you can make a different one every day from whatever is in the fridge.

The template: building a filling salad

• 1. Base: leaves (lettuce, rocket, spinach), chopped vegetables (cucumber, tomato, pepper) or a cooked grain (bulgur, couscous, quinoa, rice).
• 2. Protein: chickpeas, lentils, beans, boiled eggs, tinned tuna, grilled halloumi or leftover roast chicken.
• 3. Crunch: toasted pitta or bread, nuts, seeds, raw radish or onion.
• 4. Something sweet or salty: dates, pomegranate seeds, dried fruit, olives, feta or a little cheese.
• 5. Herbs: parsley, mint, coriander or dill, used generously.
• 6. Dressing, added just before serving so nothing goes soggy.

The dressing formula

• Start with 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (vinegar or lemon juice). Treat this as a starting point and adjust to taste.
• Put the acid in the bowl or jar first, then dissolve salt, honey, sugar or mustard in it, because they dissolve in acid but stay grainy in oil.
• Add the oil last and whisk, or shake in a jar. Mustard, honey and finely chopped garlic or shallot help the oil and acid stay mixed (emulsify).
• Dressings separate naturally, so whisk or shake again just before using.
• Levantine salads often use a sharper, more lemony dressing. A fattoush dressing can be close to equal parts olive oil and lemon juice.
• Example for 2 to 3 salads: 1 tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of salt, half a tsp honey, half a tsp mustard, 3 tbsp olive oil, black pepper.

Swap it

• Acids: lemon, lime, apple cider vinegar, red grape vinegar, pomegranate molasses (thick and sweet-sour; use a little).
• Oils: extra virgin olive oil for flavour, or a neutral oil if you want other flavours to lead.
• Creamy dressings: thin laban or yoghurt with lemon, garlic and salt; or tahini loosened with lemon and water.
• Halal check: classic vinaigrettes sometimes call for wine vinegar. If you avoid it, use cider vinegar, grape vinegar labelled halal, or lemon.
• Grains for the base: fine bulgur (soaked), couscous, cooked and cooled quinoa or rice. Use cooked rice within 24 hours.

Worked examples: fattoush and tabbouleh notes, plus a chickpea salad

• Fattoush: tear 2 to 3 pitta breads into pieces and toast at 200C (180C fan, 400F) for about 5 minutes until crisp. Toss tomatoes, cucumber, radish, lettuce, mint and parsley with a dressing of 60 ml olive oil, 60 ml lemon juice, 1 grated garlic clove and salt. Steep sliced red onion in lemon juice with 1 tsp sumac to mellow it. Add the pitta last so it stays crunchy.
• Tabbouleh is a herb salad, not a grain salad: about 2 bunches of parsley and 1 bunch of mint to only about a quarter cup of fine bulgur. Let the bulgur soften in the juices of diced tomato for about 20 minutes. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of allspice or cinnamon.
• Slice herbs with a smooth pulling motion rather than chopping up and down, which bruises them.
• Chickpea salad (serves 2): 1 tin (400 g) chickpeas (drained), 1 cucumber and 2 tomatoes (diced), a quarter red onion (finely sliced), a handful of parsley, 4 chopped dates or a handful of olives, and the dressing above. Add crumbled feta or a boiled egg for extra protein.

Fixes and tips

• Dressing too sharp: add a little more oil or a touch of honey.
• Salad tastes bland: add salt to the dressing, then more acid. Taste a leaf, not the dressing alone.
• Soggy salad: dress it just before serving, keep crunchy toppings separate, and dry leaves well after washing.
• Tabbouleh watery: drain the tomatoes slightly, and do not add the dressing until you serve.
• Packed lunch: keep dressing in a small separate pot, keep the salad cold, and eat it within the day.