Green Salad with Oil and Vinegar | Recipe | Ingredients | Health Benefits

By | June 17, 2010

Green Salad with Oil and Vinegar

No. of Servings: makes 4 to 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: nil

Green Salad Ingredients:

1 bag of mixed salad greens of varied choice or a dish full of lettuce, shredded into large pieces
1 serving of bell pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 small garlic cloves or a large garlic clove
Dash of red wine vinegar according to taste
3 to 4 Tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
¾ of a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper or 5 to 6 whole pepper corns
1 serving of black ripe olives

Green Salad Recipe:

  • Start by washing your salad greens properly and then gently patting them till dry with a cloth or paper napkin. You can even use a salad spinner to dry the salad greens. Next place the salad greens in a big salad dish which permits tossing of the leaves.
  • Use a garlic press and proceed to crush the garlic cloves till all the juice is extracted. Next sprinkle the coarse salt all over the salad, the correct gauge would be as if only the top portion of the food was being salted. Proceed to sprinkle the ground pepper all over the salad. If you are grinding the pepper in the pepper mill, 7 to 8 turns are required.
  • Next add the red wine vinegar to the salad, followed next by sprinkling the extra-virgin olive oil all over the salad greens. These two ingredients can be adjusted to suit the palate. Slice the black ripe olives and add them to the salad.
  • Toss all the contents of the salad bowl together including the dressing so that the taste is uniform. To change the salad slightly you can include other vegetables like Romaine lettuce, Vidalia onions, tomatoes, carrots, green onions, and radishes . You can also add fruits like cranberries or grapes to give it a different taste. All the vegetables and fruits should be chopped into little pieces and then served.
  • Remember to mix the vinegar, oil and seasonings just before the salad is served as if it is mixed too early it may not taste the same. Always remember to make sure that the excess water is dried off the salad leaves as this can otherwise dilute the salad dressing and affect the taste.

Salad Health Benefits:
Green salads are very healthy for us. Raw salad greens or vegetables provide lots of roughage. Romaine lettuce alone is a great source of folate, vitamin A, vitamin C, chromium and manganese. Also romaine lettuce is a great source of vitamin B1, dietary fiber and vitamin B2.