Simple Salads Part 1: Preparing the Greens

(c) Greens and Goats

Nothing is more refreshing than a crisp green leaf salad that is dressed with a tangy vinaigrette. At home I usually dry my lettuce in a lettuce spinner. When I moved to Beirut, however, I found that I had neither a lettuce spinner nor the cabinet space to store such a large single-purpose item.

I used to have an original Swiss lettuce spinner with the pull string at the bottom. After years of use, the string finally broke. Because the rest of the mechanism was beginning to wear away, I had to replace the spinner with a newer model, which has never worked as effectively as the old one. My lettuce was not getting dry enough, so I began to put a paper towel into the plastic bags that I store greens in to soak up some of the moisture. In my little Beirut kitchen, of course, I had to improvise a new approach to drying lettuce.

The spinner situation is a dilemma, of course, because washing lettuce carefully is important. There is nothing I hate more than biting into a salad and getting a mouth full of grit or sand. Fresh greens often come “pre-washed”, fairly clean, or really gritty. I find that even “pre-washed” lettuce is often too sandy for my taste so I usually give it a good rinsing.

For lettuce that looks fairly clean, I usually rinse it in a bowl of cold water then feel around the bottom of the bowl to see if there is any sand on the bottom. If the bowl has sand residue, I rinse it again.

It is the really dirty greens, such as farmer’s market lettuce, spinach, or arugula that can be a challenge. I usually give them three washings, each time pulling the lettuce out before discarding the water.

Keep in mind, if your pour the washing water over the lettuce, the grit will stay on the lettuce, so it is important to pull the lettuce out of the water and then pour it out. Because it is so time-consuming, it is a good idea to wash all of your lettuce at once so that it is ready for other uses later on in the week. (This is also a good idea with fresh herbs.)

I visited Kidron, Ohio a couple of years ago where there is a large Amish market with a number of interesting house ware items. One of these was a terrycloth cotton bag that they use for drying greens. I didn’t realize why it was light green, until I put a white hand towel into action. (Dark greens such as spinach and arugula stain a white towel.)

Basically the drying bag is a piece of plush cotton terry cloth that has been folded over and sewn up the sides. The top of the bag is also folded and sewn so that string can be put through it. To use it, put the lettuce in, pull the drawstring tight and whirl it around your head a few times. The strategy is surprisingly simple and effective.

Of course, I don’t have a sewing machine in Beirut so I bought a cotton hand towel and modified this strategy. I place the greens on one half, fold over the towel, then roll it up and gently massage the roll. If I’m going to use all of the lettuce that day, I just put it in the refrigerator rolled up. If I’m only going to use some of the lettuce or save it for a later time, I put it into a plastic bag, push as much air out of the bag as I can, seal it, and put it in the refrigerator.

When I first started doing this this, I put a piece of paper towel in the bag I stored the greens in to soak up excess moisture, but I found that the greens stayed fresh longer without the paper towel.

When I’m finished with the towel I hang it up to dry so that it’s ready for the next batch. Simple, space-saving, and effective.