Maroulosalata

Greece's salad of spring: a tall, airy heap of finely shredded cos lettuce tossed with sliced spring onion and great handfuls of fresh dill, dressed simply in good olive oil and lemon, the clean, sweet, herbal green that belongs above all to the Easter table

Origin: Greece

From the journey of Lettuce.

Maroulosalata, from marouli, the Greek for lettuce, is the salad of the Greek spring, and it is built upon a single technique that the cook must master: the fine, even shredding of the cos lettuce into long, thin ribbons. Where the rest of the Mediterranean tears or chops its lettuce, the Greek cook rolls the leaves into a tight cigar and slices them crosswise as finely as possible, so that the salad becomes a light, almost feathery tangle rather than a heap of broad leaves. To the shredded lettuce go two near-mandatory companions: thinly sliced spring onion, and dill in a quantity that startles those used to treating it as a mere garnish, chopped by the handful until the green of the herb rivals the green of the leaf. The dressing is the plainest in the Greek repertoire, simply good extra-virgin olive oil and the juice of a lemon, with salt, whisked or simply poured over and tossed at the very last moment so that the lettuce keeps its crispness. Maroulosalata is the traditional partner of the Easter lamb and of the rich, lemony Easter offal soup magiritsa, its sharp freshness cutting the heaviness of the feast, and it appears throughout the spring and early summer while the cos lettuce is sweet and before the heat turns it bitter and sends it to seed.

Ingredients

The Salad

  • 2 large heads cos (romaine) lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried
  • 6 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal, including the tender green
  • 1 large bunch fresh dill, tough stalks removed, finely chopped

Dressing

  • 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
  • 0.5 tsp salt, or to taste

Method

  1. Stack a few lettuce leaves at a time, roll them tightly into a cigar, and slice across as finely as you can to produce long, thin ribbons. Pile the shredded lettuce into a wide bowl.
  2. Add the sliced spring onions and the chopped dill to the lettuce. Do not be timid with the dill: it should be present in great quantity, almost as a second leaf rather than a seasoning.
  3. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt together in a small bowl until lightly emulsified.
  4. Pour the dressing over the salad only at the moment of serving. Toss thoroughly with your hands so every ribbon is coated, taste for salt and lemon, and serve at once.

Notes

Use the sweet inner leaves of the cos; reserve the coarse dark outer leaves for cooking. A little crumbled feta and a handful of olives turn the salad into a light meal, though the pure version served beside roast lamb is the most traditional. Spearmint may be added with or in place of some of the dill. The salad does not keep once dressed, so shred and chop ahead but combine only when ready to eat.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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