Favorite House Salad
The best house salad! As a main dish, as a side dish, as a potluck offering - sky's the limit!
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 lemon juiced (3 tablespoons or so)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt see note
- 1 clove garlic finely minced or grated with a zester
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper several grinds from a grinder
Croutons
- 2 cups cubed bread
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- fresh black pepper
Salad
- 8 cups salad greens
- ¼ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts or mixed nuts
- 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled with a fork
- salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
Dressing
- Shake all ingredients together in a mason jar or whisk together.
- Taste the dressing, and add more salt to your preference. Store until ready to use.
Croutons
- In a skillet, warm the butter over medium heat.
- When the butter melts, add the bread cubes and toss every few minutes for 5-10 minutes until the bread is lightly toasted.
- Sprinkle the salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and as much pepper as you'd like all over the croutons.
- Keep tossing and stirring to coat everything evenly in the butter and spices until the croutons are deeply golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate to cool completely before storing or serving on.
Salad
- Place the greens in a large bowl and season with about 2 tablespoons of the dressing and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss and taste; the greens should be very flavorful. (see note about adding salad dressing in advance)
- Add the croutons (about 1 cup), dried cherries, nuts, and goat cheese to the bowl. Gently toss and taste again; add more salt or dressing if needed.
- Serve the salad on shallow bowls because it tastes better that way. Enjoy!
Notes
Make-Ahead: The dressing can be made up to a week in advance. The croutons can be made 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight bag or container on the counter.
Find more tips and tricks on making your own croutons in the original post for garlic butter croutons.
Salt: The measurement here is for kosher salt. Iodized or table salt will cause the dressing to be too salty. If using sea salt or fine salt (table salt), start with ½ teaspoon then add more if needed. The dressing should be very flavorful but not overly salty.
Leftover Storage: If anticipating leftovers, do not dress or salt the greens before serving - do this one serving at a time and leave the rest of the salad naked. Dressed/salted greens tend to wilt very quickly and won't hold up well as leftovers.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!