Spring Green Salad

A good green salad relies on technique, not a long ingredient list. The classic vinaigrette — oil and acid, whisked together until they hold — is one of the oldest tricks in the kitchen, older than most of the vegetables it dresses. Shaving a stalk of asparagus into ribbons with a vegetable peeler is nearly as old a trick, turning something plain into something that catches the light and eats completely differently to a chunk cut with a knife. Both ideas sit at the heart of this Spring Green Salad.

We build the dressing around Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, whisked loose with fresh lemon juice and a little seasoning.

Here’s how we put it together, from peeler to serving bowl.

We Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A dressing this simple lives or dies on the oil doing the work. Because it’s never heated, Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil tastes in the bowl exactly as it tastes in the bottle — grassy, a little peppery at the back of the throat, with none of the heat behaviour that changes an oil’s character in a hot pan.

That’s the difference between a cooking oil and a finishing oil, even when it’s the same bottle doing both jobs. Raw, extra virgin olive oil keeps its full character — the fruitiness, the sharpness, the faint bitterness that makes a plain leaf taste like something. Cook it hard and a lot of that softens or disappears.

Whisked with lemon juice, it also emulsifies properly, clinging to the leaves instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. That’s really all a good dressing needs to do.

Our Tips

Shave, don’t chop. Use a vegetable peeler on the asparagus, and the fennel too if you’re using it, for ribbons that pick up the dressing far better than a knife cut ever will.

Dress at the very last minute. Rocket and spinach wilt fast once oil and lemon hit them, so toss just before you serve.

Salt the leaves lightly, not the dressing. A little salt straight on the leaves seasons more evenly than salt whisked into the oil.

Keep the herbs whole. Torn or whole parsley and mint leaves hold their shape and flavour better than a fine chop.

Taste your lemon before you juice it. Lemons vary a lot in sharpness, so add the juice gradually and taste as you go.

Use the biggest bowl you own. A wide, shallow bowl gives you room to toss without bruising the leaves.

How We Serve It

This Spring Green Salad works best as the plate that sits next to something richer — grilled chicken, a piece of hake, a slice of quiche straight out of the oven. The sharpness of the lemon cuts through fat easily, which is exactly the job a side salad is meant to do.

For a light lunch on its own, add a handful of shaved Parmesan or crumbled feta, and a slice of good bread on the side to mop up whatever dressing is left in the bowl.

It’s also easy to scale up for a bigger table, since the ribboning and tossing takes minutes either way.

More Ways to Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Once the bottle of Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is open, it doesn’t need to stop at this salad. It earns its keep across a few other regulars in our kitchen.

For a proper Mediterranean spread — it dresses everything from tomatoes to olives in our Mediterranean Summer Salad.

For a plate that travels well — it finishes the biltong and the mozzarella in our Biltong and Caprese Salad.

For a bowl of marinated olives — it’s the base the whole marinade builds on in our Marinated Mediterranean Olives.

For fresh-baked bread — it goes into the dough and the drizzle on top in our Three Flavour Focaccia.

For a plate of pasta — it’s the whole sauce, alongside garlic, in our Spaghetti with Garlic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The Good Stuff About This Spring Green Salad

Extra virgin is the top grade an olive oil can carry, and it means something specific: mechanically extracted, without heat or chemical solvents, with acidity kept below the threshold that defines the grade. That’s what gives it the peppery, grassy character a refined oil doesn’t have — the exact character this Spring Green Salad depends on, since nothing here is cooked.

Wilson’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is Halaal and Kosher certified, and suitable for vegans and vegetarians. It comes in 250ml, 500ml, 750ml, 1L and 5L bottles, with case options for anyone stocking a kitchen properly, and keeps for two years unopened in a cool, dark cupboard.

Ways to Change It Up

Swap the fennel for cucumber. Ribboned with the same peeler, an English cucumber gives a similar crunch if fennel isn’t in the shop.

Add a soft cheese. Crumbled feta or a few slices of fresh mozzarella turn this into a light lunch on its own.

Bring in some crunch. A handful of toasted pumpkin seeds or slivered almonds adds texture without much extra work.

Use lime instead of lemon. A squeeze of Wilson’s Lime Juice gives the dressing a sharper, slightly different edge.

Add avocado. A few slices folded in just before serving make it heartier without losing the freshness.

Go heavier on the herbs. Basil or dill both work well alongside or instead of the mint.

Questions You Might Have

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