The Benefit Of Adding Dressing To The Salad Bowl First

There's nothing better than an elaborate home-cooked meal -– until it comes to cleaning up the mess left in its wake. Whipping up various components to pile into one or two plates can somehow yield an inordinate amount of dishes to wash. Even when assembling a simple salad, making the dressing and then drizzling it into a bowl gives you another dish to clean up.

Thankfully, the French have a technique to help us avoid the extra water usage. Instead of concocting a homemade dressing in a separate bowl and pouring it onto the salad afterward, make the dressing in the bowl you'll be eating out of. Afterward, you can toss the greens into the bowl. The method is also an easy way to prevent a soggy or overdressed salad.

Although this technique is an easy fix for salads with an abundance of dressing or greens that aren't coated well enough, there are other methods to achieve the perfect salad.

A salad rarely serves as the centerpiece of a meal, but with the right configuration, it could certainly be the favorite. You don't need to go above and beyond to create one, but the proper balance of flavor and texture within your leafy greens goes far. Before making your dressing, choose the freshest greens possible and rinse them thoroughly.

Pat them dry and ensure that there's no moisture on them, as this can make them soggy and prevent the oil in the dressing from gripping to the leaves. Once they're dry, chop them into bite-sized pieces if needed. In your bowl, mix up your dressing; an easy homemade Catalina dressing pairs nicely with a variety of salads.

Add your salad to the center of your bowl and use your hands to gently massage the dressing into the greens. Pour in toppings to give your salad additional texture and sweetness; this can range from sunflower seeds to dried cranberries. The final step? Add in the one simple ingredient that will revolutionize your salads: salt. Sprinkle in a pinch of kosher or pink Himalayan salt and transform your salad into something that will have everyone asking for seconds.