Delia Smith Green Salad Recipe

Every other salad on this site has a story: special dressings, unusual grains, crispy toppings, but this one does not. Delia Smith’s chunky green salad from her Complete How to Cook is just four types of leaves, cucumber, spring onions, and a double-vinegar vinaigrette, serving 8 as the summer salad you make when everything else on the table needs to be the star.

Delia tears the lettuce and chicory rather than shredding them, so you get big chunky pieces with actual bite. The rocket and watercress add a peppery sharpness, and the salad dressing of balsamic and sherry vinegar is the same one she uses for her Anya potato salad.

More Salad Recipes:

• Caesar Salad
• Greek Salad
• Vinaigrette Dressing

Why Four Types of Leaves?

Round lettuce gives bulk and sweetness, chicory adds bitterness and crunch, rocket brings a peppery kick, and watercress gives a mustardy heat at the back of your throat. Together they cover four different flavour notes in one bowl.

Together they taste more interesting than any single leaf could on its own, and you do not need cheese, nuts, or croutons because the leaves do the work.

Green Salad Ingredients

The Leaves:

• 1 round lettuce, outer leaves removed
• 1 head of chicory (endive), outer leaves removed
• 50g (2 oz) rocket (arugula), stalks removed
• 50g (2 oz) watercress, stalks removed
• Half a cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly
• 3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

The Vinaigrette:

• 1 rounded dessertspoon of sea salt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 rounded dessertspoon of mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
• 10 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly milled black pepper

How To Make Delia Smith Green Salad

1. Prepare the leaves: Tear the lettuce and chicory leaves into large pieces and place in a big serving bowl with the rocket and watercress. Scatter in the cucumber and spring onions and toss well.
2. Make the vinaigrette: Crush the sea salt coarsely in a pestle and mortar. Add the garlic and crush into a puree. Work in the mustard powder with about 20 seconds of circular grinding. Add black pepper, then both vinegars, and work them in. Add the olive oil, switch to a small whisk, and whisk everything together thoroughly.
3. Dress just before serving: Whisk the dressing again. Add half to the salad leaves and toss. Add the remaining dressing and toss again so every leaf gets a good coating. Serve immediately.

Dress It Twice, Not Once

Delia adds the dressing in two goes: half first, toss, then the rest, toss again, because pouring it all on at once drowns the bottom leaves and leaves the top dry. Ten seconds of extra tossing fixes it completely.

I used to skip this and wonder why some bites were oily and others were plain. Now I never pour all the dressing at once.

What To Serve This With

This is the side salad for everything else on the site. I put it next to the broad bean salad and a Roquefort potato salad for a buffet, or just beside a coronation chicken for a simple lunch.

Because there is no cheese, fruit, or protein in it, it never clashes with whatever you are serving. That is the whole point.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 180 kcal
• Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrates: 2g
• Fibre: 1g
• Protein: 2g

Nutrition is estimated per serving based on 8 servings.

You Might Also Like:

• Potato Salad
• Coleslaw
• Blue Cheese Dressing