Spanish Mixed Salad with Sherry Vinegar Vinaigrette

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The salad that lands on nearly every table in Spain: cold crisp lettuce, sweet tomato, raw onion rings, olives and pickled vegetables, dressed at the table with nothing but good sherry vinegar, olive oil and salt. Add tinned tuna and jammy eggs and it becomes a genuine light lunch. No cooking beyond a pot of water — the whole thing lives or dies on cold, dry lettuce and a dressing you shake yourself.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar, preferably Reserva
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, Spanish if you have it
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 small clove garlic, grated
• 3/4 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more for finishing
• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 large head romaine or crisp green leaf lettuce
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, or 12 oz cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 medium sweet or red onion
• 1/2 medium English cucumber
• 1 cup jarred piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers, drained
• 3/4 cup green olives, such as Manzanilla or Gordal
• 1/2 cup pickled vegetables (cornichons, pickled carrot, guindilla peppers, or giardiniera)
• 2 tbsp drained capers or caperberries

• 2 cans (5 oz each) good tuna in olive oil, such as bonito del norte
• 4 large eggs
• 1 can (4 oz) white asparagus spears, drained
• Crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

1. If you want eggs, cook them first. Bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil, lower the eggs in on a spoon, and boil 8 minutes for a set-but-creamy yolk (7 for jammy, 10 for fully firm). Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes, then peel under a thin stream of cold water and halve lengthwise.
2. Slice the onion into paper-thin rings, drop them into a bowl of cold water with a few ice cubes, and let them sit 15 minutes. This pulls the harsh bite out and makes them snap. Drain well and pat dry before using.
3. Cut the lettuce crosswise into wide 1-inch ribbons, discarding the tough base. Wash in a large bowl of cold water, then dry thoroughly in a salad spinner or on towels — any water left behind will dilute the dressing. Refrigerate the dry leaves, uncovered, until you're ready to build; cold, dry lettuce is the entire point of this salad.
4. Make the vinaigrette: combine the sherry vinegar, Dijon, honey, grated garlic, 3/4 tsp salt and a generous grind of pepper in a jar. Seal and shake to dissolve the salt. Add the olive oil, seal again, and shake hard for 20 seconds until creamy and slightly thickened. Taste on a lettuce leaf — it should be sharp and forward, not shy. Adjust with a splash more oil if it stings.
5. Cut the tomatoes into thick wedges or halve the cherry tomatoes, then season them alone with a pinch of flaky salt and set aside for 5 minutes to draw out juice and flavor. Slice the cucumber into 1/4-inch half-moons. Tear the piquillo peppers into wide strips.
6. Spread the lettuce over a large, wide platter. Scatter the cucumber over it, then arrange the tomato wedges, onion rings, piquillo strips, olives, pickled vegetables and capers in loose piles across the top rather than tossing everything together — you want to see each component.
7. If serving as a meal, drain the tuna and break it into large flakes over the center, tuck in the halved eggs cut side up, and lay the white asparagus spears alongside.
8. Shake the vinaigrette once more and pour about two-thirds of it over the salad, drizzling right over the tuna and eggs. Finish with flaky salt and a final crack of pepper. Serve immediately, with the remaining dressing and bread on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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