WeekTable
Menu
Plan my week
AI-generated photograph: Loosely piled butterhead and little gem leaves with pale cucumber half moons and peppery watercress in a wide white bowl, glistening with a creamy mustard dressing, snipped chives on top

Home · Recipes · Green leaf salad with mustard dressing

British · Sides

Green leaf salad with mustard dressing

soft garden leaves · cucumber · mustard dressing

AI-generated photograph

Soft butterhead and crisp little gem leaves with cucumber and peppery watercress, lightly coated in a creamy shaken mustard and lemon dressing.

Contains: mustard and sulphur dioxide and sulphites, as written. Of the 14 allergens, this recipe contains mustard, in the Dijon mustard. Many Dijon mustards also contain sulphites, from wine or a preservative, so sulphites are listed too; check the jar.

Ingredients

  • 1 round lettuce (butterhead)
  • 2 little gem lettuces
  • Half a cucumber
  • 40g watercress or rocket
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about half a lemon)
  • Half a teaspoon maple syrup
  • A pinch of salt
  • Black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin if you have it)
  • A small handful of fresh chives (about 10g)

Plan a week with British dishes

Let's cook

  1. Pull the lettuces apart into separate leaves. Keep the small inner leaves whole and tear the larger ones in half. Wash them in a bowl of cold water, lift them out and dry them well in a salad spinner or a clean tea towel. Dressing slides off wet leaves.
  2. Cut the cucumber in half along its length, scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon, then slice it thinly into half moons.
  3. Make the dressing in a clean jam jar: put in the mustard, lemon juice, maple syrup, salt and a good grind of pepper. Add the oil, put the lid on and shake hard for 20 seconds, until it is thick and creamy looking.
  4. Snip the chives into short lengths with scissors.
  5. Just before serving, put the leaves, cucumber and watercress in a large, wide bowl. Shake the dressing again, pour over about two thirds and toss gently with your hands until every leaf is lightly coated. Add more dressing only if it needs it.
  6. Scatter over the chives and serve straight away.

Tips

  • Dress the salad at the last minute. Leaves go limp within 10 minutes of meeting the dressing.
  • The mustard is what holds the oil and lemon together in a creamy dressing, so shake it well.
  • The dressing keeps in the jar in the fridge for 5 days. Shake it again before using.

Swaps

  • Without mustard: leave it out and shake the oil and lemon hard. The dressing is thinner but still good.
  • Sharper: use 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar instead of the lemon juice (vinegar can contain sulphites).

More in the British meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

From the same kitchen

What goes with it.

The British meal plan