Citrus, oil, and a sharper salad

Most salads fail in the bowl, not in the field. The leaves were fine. The dressing was shy.

This note is for the months when citrus is the loudest thing in the market. Blood orange, lemon, a bitter leaf, and oil that tastes of something.

The dressing

Juice one lemon and half an orange into a jug. Add a pinch of salt and let it sit while you wash the leaves. The salt dissolves and the juice tastes finished. Whisk in oil until it looks like a thin cream, not a slick.

The leaves

Dry them as if you mean it. Water is the enemy of oil. Tear, do not cut, unless the rib is tough. Toss with your hands so every edge is coated and no leaf is swimming.

The plate

A few segments of the remaining orange, a grind of pepper, and nothing else unless you have a soft cheese that will not fight. Eat it before it wilts. A sharper salad is a salad that still remembers the knife.