How to make the easiest, most delicious summer salads. With cheese.

Latest heat spells have you craving hands-off meals like me? Yup. Summer’s calling, it’s easy salad time. Here are 5 things to do to always make a perfect, delicious, salad every time. And no need to restrict yourself- these salads ❤️ cheese.

5 Easy Steps to an A++ Salad

1. Layer your greens (or reds!): Mix 2 different greens for ultimate flavor and texture, or use 1 green that’s bold with tons of flavor, like arugula. Tell iceberg lettuce to stay home. We want to hang out with lively, party greens.

   
   

2. Use fresh herbs: Roughly chop a fresh herb (dill pictured above) and add it to your greens just before tossing. Think soft herbs like dill, parsley, tarragon, basil, or oregano, and leave the woody ones like rosemary that taste better cooked for your roast chicken. 

   
   

3. Add something sweet & something spicy: For a perfectly balanced salad that is never boring, always add to it something sweet (dates in pic) like dried fruit, sliced apples, or peaches, and something spicy or peppery. Red onion pictured below. My favorite way to spice up a salad is to mince a shallot and toss it in my vinaigrette (or if you can take a little heat, thinly sliced jalapeños). Out of ripe fruit? Add a teaspoon of 🍯 honey, sour cherry jam or marmalade to your vinaigrette.

   
   

4. Use cheese 🧀. This is why we’re all here, right? Don’t miss out on an opportunity to add cheese to your life. And seriously, any cheese works! Feta and crumbly cheeses like chèvre are awesome for salads, but all dairy likes to play. Have a hard cheese like Parmesan or cheddar? Shave or peel it on top! Bust out that peeler for some pretty cheese curls.

   
   

5. Ratio for Vinaigrette matters: A perfectly balanced vinaigrette includes 2 parts olive olive (and sometimes a touch of hazelnut, sesame, or walnut oil) to 1 part acid. Acids are lemons, vinegars, or a mix of the two. DON’T FORGET TO ADD SALT! Add some shallots for glory.

6. For a bonus or a salad that acts as a meal: Add a grain or something crunchy. Not necessary, but if you want a meal in a bowl, add a grain. That’s my barley below. I normally cook up a big batch of a grain in the beginning of the week and use in for easy meal prep until Friday.