If there is a dish I did a thousand times, it is this simple lettuce salad with French lemon dressing. In France, classic salads are based on lettuce, with typically a choice of two dressings. The first is oil and vinegar (white or red). The second is the French lemon dressing that I used for today’s salad. Sometimes the lettuce consists of only that, with no other vegetable added to it. Over the time of living with Layla, she likes to add tomato and avocado to them, and I’ve become accustomed to doing the same. The recipe remains super simple and it does add more flavor and nutrients to the overall dish.
Tonight I was making croque-monsieurs and croque-madames, which are filling sandwiches. It felt appropriate to add this simple lettuce salad with French lemon dressing to the plate to make a complete meal. The combination is often served in restaurants or French mountains, so that the plate is not devoid of vegetables, containing only carbs and proteins (even if high quality ones).
You can replace the lettuce with other greens, such as spinach, arugula, or non-greens like carrots, red cabbage, beets or soybean sprouts. If it’s fresh and in season, this easy lettuce is almost guaranteed to taste good. My father used to say that with good ingredients, it’s difficult to miss a dish.
Easy lettuce salad with French lemon dressing
Ingredients
- 1 lettuce
- 1 avocado
- 1 tomato
- 10 garlic cloves
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp mustard Use French mustard, brand examples: Amora, Maille
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the lettuce in a salad bowl, slice the avocado and tomato.
- In a small container, mix the lemon juice, crushed garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend first, then add in the olive oil. This will help the sauce thicken and prevent the olive oil from separating from the rest.
- Pour the lemon dressing on the vegetables and stir well.
- Serve immediately.
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