We've all had this happen: you sit down in front of a big bowl of a crisp, colorful, delicious-looking salad that's been tossed in a homemade vinaigrette. Excited to dig in, you spear a lettuce leaf on your fork. And then you take a bite. A disappointing, tasteless, soggy bite.
Why would such a lovely, freshly made salad taste so mediocre? What happened to this bowl of greens and vegetables, which once held such promise? Two words: wet greens.
Wet greens are the enemy of salad recipes everywhere. Even a little bit of water on your greens will repel the oils in salad dressing, preventing it from coating the leaves. Instead the dressing will slide off and pool at the bottom of your bowl, where all that extra liquid will make the whole salad go soggy and limp faster.
To build the best salads possible, you need to start with a base of fresh, dry greens that will easily hold onto whatever amazing dressing you put on them and will stay lively and crunchy long enough to enjoy.
The problem, of course, is that water is an inherent part of salad-making: most greens need to be washed before eating (unless you're using pre-washed greens, of course). And no matter how much spinning in a salad spinner or shaking in a colander you do after washing, there's still going to be a bit of water on your greens. It can be so tempting just to throw those still-somewhat-wet greens into the salad bowl at that point; after all, washing lettuce is enough of a pain without adding an extra step to the mix.
But that extra step makes all the difference. And it only takes a minute of active time. Here's how to do it:
Place a clean dish towel or paper towels over a rimmed baking sheet (or just right on your table). Spread the leaves over the towel and let them air dry for about half an hour or or so. That's it.
If they're extra wet, you can blot them a bit with another towel before leaving them to air dry. Or you can wrap them in a slightly damp towel or paper towel (perhaps the one you dried them on, if it's not soaking wet) and put them into a plastic bag and refrigerate until you're ready to toss your salad together. Bonus: your greens will stay fresh much longer this way.
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In an ideal world, I trim and wash my lettuces and greens as soon as I bring them home, and that way I have plenty of time to properly dry and store them before turning them into salads. But even if I haven't prepped my greens in advance, I don't skip that crucial step—I just get that lettuce washed and lay it out to dry before making the rest of my dinner. By the time everything else is cooked, my greens are nice and dry and ready to be tossed into a well-dressed, crunchy, endlessly satisfying salad.