I stumbled upon this fantastic method for cleaning and preparing lettuce for salads many years ago. This method is quick, has minimal dirty dishes, and works very well. I use this method anytime I need to prepare salad greens, and it also works well for preparing herbs (such as basil or parsley).
Quick and Easy Way to Prepare Salad Greens
Lettuce, arugula, or other greens (this works well for herbs, too)
Equipment needed: salad spinner (I love my OXO Small Salad Spinner, which has worked flawlessly for many years and is small enough to fit easily in the fridge)
Begin by ripping the lettuce (or other greens) into bite-sized pieces and placing them directly into the basket of the salad spinner. Do not use a knife to cut the greens unless they will be completely consumed immediately after preparation, as using a knife will cause the cut edges of the greens to brown quickly. I like to prepare as many greens as will fit into the salad spinner which usually means there are leftover greens, so I always hand-rip instead of using a knife.
Fill the salad spinner with water and gently slosh the lettuce/greens around to wash it.
Pull the basket out and let the water drain. Instead of pouring the used wash-water down the drain, I like to use it for watering plants.
Repeat the washing twice more with fresh water. Triple-washing the lettuce/greens ensures that all debris and dirt is fully removed.
Drain the basket and use the salad spinner to dry the lettuce/greens.
Any leftover lettuce/greens can be stored directly in the salad spinner in the fridge.
Do you have any tips to share for easy salad preparation?
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