Oil for salads...

[AnonymousBird]

Ok, so the salad season is well and truly in swing - got it growing like mad so eating it most nights.

We aren't into fancy dressings, I generally just like a little oil on my salad. Our "regular" all purpose mild olive oil is not that great, but I didn't buy it with salad in mind.

Any recommendations please?

Do I need to go Extra virgin?

When I don't want a strong flavour on a salad such as Caesar or Vinaigrette dressing I simply use walnut oil. It gives a very nice and yet subtle flavour.

In fact...sometimes for a healthy snack I split a little gem lettuce in half, drizzle with walnut oil and sprinkle a tiny bit of sea-salt and cracked black pepper...yum!

Claire
www.clairecrawshaw.co.uk

yep, extra virgin really makes a difference.
we also like sesame seed oil (asian corner) or just honey-mustard (1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1 tablespoon olive oil)

Walnut oil is wonderful. Austrian pumpkin seed oil (krbiskurnoil) is amazing on a salad and worth its weight in gold - you only need a tiny bit as it's very rich and lovely.

Another simple dressing which my brother likes is extra virgin olive oil, squeeze of lemon or lime, and sprinkle of sea salt.

I normally use mild olive oil for frying and extra virgin olive oil for salads. Extra virgin olive oil has a stronger, greener taste and goes very well with salads. Mild olive oil is too bland tasting I find and I treat it like I would with any cooking oils and just use it for cooking purposes.

oh and I second the sesame oil recommendation. It has a lovely nutty flavour and aroma.

My favourite is the dark green pumpkin seed oil. Incredibly rich, nutty flavour so only to be used sparingly. That and a little balsamic on an avocado... lovely.

I adore sesame oil for stir frys etc, had not even thought of it for a salad oil... is it not a bit overbearing? Do you just use it on its own?

I bought a small bottle of extra virgin yesterday for my evening salad and it was absolutely lovely!