Crunchy, light, bright, and ultra-fresh. This French-inspired bistro salad is an absolute star as a side for nearly any dinner. Tender greens, fresh herbs, pickled onions, and a delicate vinaigrette on top.
I’ve already made this salad three times in a week! It is so bright and simple yet complex and flavorful. It’s going to be a regular run the rotation from here on out.
This salad!
WOW. I am fully in love with this salad.
My friend Liz (of Liz’s Roasted Broccoli Salad fame) brought this salad to our dinner club a few weeks ago. We had a French-ish theme – charcuterie, French onion soup, beef bourguignon, creamy potatoes, homemade bread, and creme brûlée. LOL. And then there was Liz’s salad. It was like a little beacon of brightness in a sea of cream, butter, and cheese. I would (and have) eat this as a salad on its own, but the contrast of this with, say, a beef stew, or a really cheesy panini, or a big bowl of luscious mushroom soup – that’s where this salad shines.
In This Post: Everything You Need For This Bistro Salad
- What Makes This a Bistro Salad
- Things to Add to This Salad
- Using Canola Oil
- How Long Does This Salad Keep
- My Salad-Famous Friend
- Bistro Salad Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a study in simplicity. The entire salad is greens, herbs, pickled onions, and vinaigrette. That’s it. It’s like a love song to everything green.
But here’s why I really love it:
It is an A+ balance of crunchy and light and delicate – the herbs are ultra-fresh but not bossy, the pickled onions are there but not in your face, and the combination of finely chopped romaine (cronchy) with gently torn butter lettuce (tender) with the lightest, brightest vinaigrette slicked into to every nook and cranny is absolute salad perfection.
Description
Crunchy, light, bright, and ultra-fresh. This French-inspired bistro salad is an absolute star as a side for nearly any dinner. Tender greens, fresh herbs, pickled onions, and a delicate vinaigrette on top.
Instructions
- Pickled Onions: Place the onions in a jar; fill the jar about a third of the way with vinegar, then fill to the top of the onions with water. Add salt and sugar, shake, and keep in the fridge for a few hours or a few days. (I’d suggest 30 minutes minimum if you’re short on time.)
- Vinaigrette: Shake all dressing ingredients in a jar. It should be pleasantly bright and mellow – remember we’ll be adding a bunch of onions and herbs to the salad, so it’s okay for this dressing to be pretty chill. Keep this in the fridge if making ahead.
- Salad: Prep all your salad greens – chop the romaine and the herbs, and gently tear the lettuce leaves into bite sized pieces.
- Toss: Just before serving, toss greens, herbs, pickled onions, and dressing together – starting with about half of the dressing that’s in the jar, and adding more as necessary.
- Serve: Taste and adjust; add salt and pepper to taste. It’s tender, bright, a little puckery, and so fresh. I love it.
Notes
To make ahead: prep the onions and the dressing. Chop the greens. Store everything separately in the fridge, and assemble the amount you need just before serving! This works really well as a make-ahead side salad for dinners throughout the whole week. I would double the dressing and then just buy a bunch of greens and throw my 2-4 person salads together every night throughout the week.
If you want to scale this up, you should have enough dressing for a 6-8 serving salad; just add another romaine heart and use a full head of butter lettuce instead of half.
You can use another oil if you want, but I like canola for the neutral flavor – it keeps the dressing very mild.
