Once, many years ago, I ate a perfect vegan salad in an Italian restaurant that has long since closed. This salad was so perfect not because of the lettuce or the four cherry tomatoes tossed on it – its dressing was simply divine.
Even though I was a student, I went back to the same restaurant time after time, and for the same perfect vegan salad I paid an outrageously ridiculous price for some lettuce, tomatoes and croutons – far beyond what the average student could afford.
One day I made up my mind: I had to reveal the secret and keep paying for that salad over and over again, or mortgage my life to the bank. I went to the same restaurant one last time, ordered my favourite vegan salad and asked for some extra dressing on the side. I poured the sauce into an empty vial prepared in advance for the task, and from there I continued to the kitchen on a journey of experimentation – until the secret was revealed and I’ve finally discovered the recipe (or at least something very similar to it).
Since then, it’s been our regular vegan lettuce salad, and it’s the best there is. Always the most popular at every family event, there is no one who doesn’t like it and asks for more (even 4 year olds!). So here they are – the recipe for my secret sauce for a perfect vegan salad, and also the recipe for the salad itself.
Enjoy!
Secret sauce for a vegan lettuce salad
(Quantity fit a medium jar)
3 heaped teaspoons of brown / white sugar
3 heaped teaspoons of Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons of lemon juice
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
8 teaspoons of soy sauce
Olive oil – add the same amount to the rest of the sauce
Close the jar and blend well.
The perfect vegan lettuce salad
Hand torn soft lettuce
A handful of cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
Thin slices of purple onion
Crispy tofu or golden tofu strips made in a pan
Crotons
3-5 tablespoons of the secret sauce (personal preference)