My Nightly Salad
For the past 23 years, I've been making a salad in the bowl pictured above at least three nights a week. The bowl has never been washed, has a crack down the side and on the bottom has burn marks from one night when I accidentally left it on a hot stove top. If my house were burning down, this bowl would be the only thing I would grab from the kitchen. The recipe below is written especially for my dear friend, Marianne.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic smashed into bowl
- 1 teaspoon ancient sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar the highest quality you can afford
Ingredients
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Instructions
- In the bottom of a wooden bowl, smash garlic until broken down into little bits. Sprinkle salt on top. According to a study done about ten years ago, if you let the garlic and salt sit for up to 15 minutes an enzyme breaks down which increases the health benefits. But really I just think it tastes better if the garlic sits, mellows out and sweats a little after you salt it.
- Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With your serving spoon swirl the garlic, salt, olive oil and balsamic together until well mixed. At this point, sometimes I let it sit for up to an hour or more until I am ready to toss in a few handfuls of lettuce.
- Toppings? Most of the time I forget, but when I do remember I add hemp seeds (I'm in Colorado after all), sliced almonds, walnuts and/or avocado. What I never add is fruit. I know, I know, I know...my family is annoyed about it, too. For the record, I also hate fruit in my chocolate.
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Thank you!
For the past 23 years, I’ve tried to recreate this salad dressing. I found a bowl just like yours at an antique store. It was nasty with age. I spent the afternoon with 4 different grades of sandpaper and then a high-quality mineral oil to restore it. It’s my favorite salad bowl no doubt, but it does not replicate your treasure.
Do you smash the garlic with a pestle? I haven’t let it sit for 15 mins with the salt. I will try smashing in the bowl and salting tonight!
Indeed that bowl is the magic ingredient! I hope your girls understand how precious that bowl is for future generations. My MIL has a wood mortar and pestle that she’s used for 40+ years for her hummus. I’m the only one in the family that recognizes its worth.
I smash the garlic with the back of my wooden serving spoon. I’ve also had a little wooden mushroom-looking thing that I used for years to smash it into the bowl, but I think I lost it in all of our moves.
Yeah, I sure hope the girls treasure the bowl, but if not, I’ll bequeath it to your children!
Let me know if letting it sit with the salt changes your salad.