Sensation Salad: crisp, fresh lettuce tossed in a light, rich dressing of olive oil, vegetable oil, and vinegar, sparked by the tangy, upfront flavors of garlic, lemon, and Romano
Estimated Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 12Servings
Here's What You Need
For the Dressing
½cupsalad oil
½cupolive oil
3tablespoonsfresh lemon juice
1tablespoonwhite vinegar
3tablespoonschopped garlic - pressed or chopped fine, about 6 cloves
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
For the Salad
18 - 20ouncesiceberg or romaine lettuce
1cupRomano Cheese - grated
2tablespoonsparsley chopped - chopped
¼cupblue cheese - optional
Here's What You Do
Mix the ingredients for the Dressing together in a jar or a small bowl and set aside.
Trim the hard, white centers from the lettuce. Wash and dry the lettuce, then tear or chop it into bite size pieces.
Place the chopped lettuce onto a large platter or in a large salad bowl.
Sprinkle the Romano Cheese and chopped parsley on top of the lettuce.
Sprinkle the blue cheese on top (if using).
Shake or whisk the dressing to mix well and ladle it on top of the prepared greens, starting with about half. Toss, taste and add more dressing as desired.
Serve immediately with more grated Romano Cheese and chopped parsley on top of each serving.
Notes
Read my article Sensation Salad for greater details on ingredients, process photos, and FAQs. This will make about 1 ¼ cup of dressing and about 12 cups of salad greens. Serving size is estimated at 1 cup each, but will vary depending on how you serve the salad.The dressing can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days. The dressing may solidify or separate after being refrigerated. If so, remove it from the fridge at least a half hour before you want to use it. Once it's back to room temperature, give it a good whisk or shake and you should be ready to go.Leftovers: Keeping a fully dressed and tossed salad in the fridge for more than a couple of hours usually ends up with a limp, blah salad. Dress only the amount of salad you are ready to eat. Keep leftover undressed lettuce mixture (lettuce, parsley, and cheese) in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This recipe uses a blend of olive oil and a light vegetable-based oil, preferably with no flavor. The olive oil will add a slight richness that is stretched by the vegetable oil. The oils are the vehicle for the real flavor drives (lemon, garlic, and Romano) to ride on.