Ah, how I love receiving that follow-up question. Each and every time, I’ll respond with, “actually, I love salad.” I then adore watching the person’s facial transformation – twisting mouth and furrowing brow – as he or she becomes even more confused. If the person does not immediately conclude that I am simply delusional, I will begin my usual – salads-don’t-need-lettuce rant.

Salads do not (always) need lettuce.

Now, you may have heard that you don’t make friends with salad, but I think that that is only because most people are doing it all wrong. There are so many vegetable possibilities out there – all you need is two or three of them, and you’ve got yourself a salad. Lettuce-free.

My two favorite salad combinations are: 1. Cucumber, tomato and celery and 2. Spinach, dried cranberries and almonds. Lately, however, I’ve been on a more exotic/experimental gourmet salad kick. I started the week off with a fabulous concoction of pan-seared red pear slices, brie and chopped walnuts. And then, yesterday, I picked that – as I discovered today at lunch – is even tastier once it’s been marinating for a while. Unlike lettuce salads that become soggy a day later – this salad maintained it’s crunch beautifully.

Go ahead and make some friends.

Marinated Fennel & Cucumber Salad
 an original recipe by Allison Sklar

what you’ll need
for the dressing: 
1/8 cup rice vinegar (any other light-tasting vinegar will do)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder (acts as an emulsifier)
1 tsp dried crushed oregano
1/2 tsp garlic or onion powder (or both, if desired)
for the salad:
1/3 fennel bulb, chopped into thin slices
1 carrot, coarsely grated
2 lebanese cucumbers, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful toasted almond slices


how to do it
Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Toss vegetables to coat. Marinate for at least one hour – the longer, the better. If you desire lettuce, add some shredded iceberg just before serving.