Easy Herb Salad Recipes

SOFT HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Up to a day before serving, wash the herbs and greens: Fill a large bowl or clean sink with plenty of cold water. Immerse the leaves, swish around to loosen any dirt, then gently lift out. Dry in a salad spinner or by spreading them on clean kitchen towels. (If working ahead, refrigerate the dry leaves in sealed plastic bags or containers. Add a paper towel to each bag to absorb excess water.)
• Melt butter in a frying pan until it sizzles. Add almonds. Sauté over low heat, until the almonds are golden and the butter is browned. Lift out almonds and drain on paper towels, reserving butter. (Butter can be kept for 1 day. Melt and cool again before assembling salad.)
• When ready to serve, place greens in a large bowl. Add salt, pepper, chile flakes, almonds, cooking butter, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss gently and season to taste, then serve immediately.

EASY HERB POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Add the potatoes to a large stockpot and cover with water by 2 inches. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, and then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain then set aside to cool.
• When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite sized chunks or slice into thin rounds. Add to a large salad bowl.
• Whisk the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil together until creamy and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour all but 1/4 cup of the dressing over the potatoes and toss. Set the potatoes aside for five minutes to absorb the dressing (it will look like a lot at first, but the potatoes will soak it up).
• Add the scallions and fresh herbs. Toss gently, but thoroughly. If the potato salad seems dry, add a splash of the remaining dressing. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate, and then serve the salad cold.

LEAFY HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Combine greens in a large bowl, along with parsley, cilantro and chives. Add mint or dill leaves, if you have them on hand. (It's fine if you don't, but the more the merrier.)
• Zest lemon over the greens, then halve and squeeze lemon juice all over everything. Season with flaky salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and finish with a good drizzle of olive oil. The salad should be lightly oiled, and heavy on the flaky salt and lemon juice.

BARLEY SALAD WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Bring barley and 3 cups water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Drain if necessary.
• Meanwhile, place shallot in a large bowl, and whisk in mustard, oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Stir in barley and herbs. Serve warm.

HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Separate 1 large head Bibb lettuce. Combine in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons each of torn basil, dill, parsley and mint. Toss with the juice of 1/2 lemon and 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

TWO BEAN & HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Use metal tongs to hold the onion over hot coals or char in a hot griddle pan until just blackened all over. Leave to cool completely, then peel away the outer blackened layer and finely chop the rest of the onion. You can also simply finely chop the onion without charring it first, if you prefer.
• Cook the beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 4-5 mins until just cooked, with a slight snap. Drain and tip into a bowl with the onion, cannellini beans, olive oil and lemon juice. Season well, toss everything together and set aside until needed. This can be prepared several hours ahead and chilled. Stir in the herbs just before serving.