A Simple Salad With a Secret

The other night, the boys and I went to Jenny’s new apartment…

The boys adore Jenny, her husband Andy, and their dog Bean.

So, they immediately made themselves at home.

For dinner, Jenny and Andy made a delicious pork ragu, and we brought flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

But the surprising highlight? This simple salad.

“The magic part is the salad dressing,” Jenny explained, when I raved about it. “Samin Nosrat wrote about Via Carota’s dressing years ago for the New York Times. You can upgrade the most boring weekday salad; it’s such a small thing that makes everything more special.”

You’ll need:
Butter lettuce
Salt and pepper
Via Carota dressing (“If you make a good dressing over the weekend, and pop it in the fridge, it saves so much psychic energy during the week.”)
Shaved parmesan

Wash the lettuce. Add salt and pepper BEFORE you add the dressing. (I learned this from my favorite salad cookbook, Saladish by Ilene Rosen. This way, you ensure that your delicate lettuce isn’t overhandled and crushed by the weight of a dressing and your salad tongs. Once the dressing is added, you only have to toss briefly.) Then add the dressing and use your hands to ensure a gentle mixing. Finally, shave parmesan on top, and serve it like that so everyone can see the parm! Enjoy.

Thank you, Jenny!

P.S. Nine rules for better salads, and five salads without lettuce.