Stop using salad dressing: Toss with lemon juice and olive oil, and call it a day

As someone whose job is to help people cook smarter, better and faster, I am keenly aware of the admonition “Do as I say, not as I do.” When I publish a recipe or offer tips or cooking technique guidance, am I recommending you do something that I would not bother with myself? If I ask for the additional effort, is the outcome ultimately worth it?

After some recent recipe testing, I started asking myself whether I had been doing salads — particularly salad dressings — wrong. Well, perhaps not all wrong, but at least a little wrong. I’ve written about homemade vinaigrettes and how to achieve a beautifully stable, emulsified condiment enlivened with interesting wild-card pantry ingredients. My colleagues have rounded up some of our best dressing recipes and offered helpful formulas for vinaigrettes and creamy dressings. All good, sound advice.

But on a busy weeknight when just getting the main course on the table feels challenging enough, am I going to go to the trouble of whisking up a carefully curated salad dressing that dirties another bowl or jar? Probably not. And do I even usually have a bottle of store-bought dressing in the fridge? Again, probably not.

So in the interest of time, and adding more greens into our diets, I’m giving myself — and you — permission to simply toss a salad with lemon juice and olive oil, and call it a day.

This is not a particularly new or novel take, I know. I credit Nourish columnist Ellie Krieger and former assistant recipes editor Olga Massov with helping me come to appreciate it more of late, and making me realize this simple combination is not “less than” a composed dressing.

Count Alex MacLaren, whose first cookbook, “We Use What We Have Recipes,” publishes in August, among the fellow fans of this approach. “You have the elements on hand. … It’s fewer ingredients to purchase,” she says. Plus, “I’m more inclined to make a salad knowing I don’t have to purchase a salad dressing.”

While acknowledging how a good dressing can bring a salad together, “A simple mix of salt, good oil, and a squeeze of lemon is often all you need,” write Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer in their upcoming “Honey & Co. Daily,” publishing in May.

I love vindication for what ultimately distills to being lazy.

The approach really is as simple as tossing the greens with oil and your acid of choice, plus your preferred level of salt and, if desired, pepper, but there are at least a few things to consider as you throw it together. One is the ratio of acid to fat. “I like a tart salad,” MacLaren says. “I want it to smack. I want my face to have a reaction to the dressing.” To that end, she goes with a 2:1 ratio of acid to oil. I’m often more inclined to flip that ratio, or edge closer to an equal amount of each.

Her preferred acid is balsamic vinegar, usually a middle-of-the-road option — not the expensive long-aged bottles, but not the cheapest generic option either. Balsamic already has a tinge of sweetness, which negates the need for any additional sugar. Other staples, she says, including lemon juice or cider vinegar, might require a bit of honey, depending on your personal preference and the type and amount of acid you use.

As laid-back as the approach is, it’s worth keeping in mind the order you add the ingredients, a tip I recently picked up in a video from America’s Test Kitchen’s Joseph Gitter. When dressing a salad with just oil and vinegar, it’s best to add the vinegar first, toss, then add the oil. That’s because, he explains, the waxy protective cuticle on greens such as lettuce is more easily penetrated by oil, which can turn the salad soggy. Vinegar (and similarly, lemon juice) can help block that wilting action and keep the greens crisp.

As to how much oil and vinegar to add, for a standard bag of greens, “measure in tablespoons, not cups.” MacLaren says. A lighter hand ensures you won’t overdo it, and “you can always add more.” Season with salt and pepper, and adjust accordingly. “Once you start tasting, you’re going to know what’s missing,” MacLaren says.

And while we’re on the topic of streamlining salads, MacLaren recommends you not overthink the other elements. “It’s okay to just have lettuce salad” and not chop a single ingredient, she says. As long as you’re eating more salads, she doesn’t care how you do it.

“Not every part of your meal has to be a recipe. … Every day does not need to be, like, a five-course meal,” she says. “It’s okay to just get it done.”