Mix up ingredients, dressing to freshen salads without fuss

‘Mom, that salad was really good,” my 9-year-old daughter said to me recently over dinner.

“Really? You liked it?”

“Loved it.”

I was a little surprised. “You liked it better than the steak?”

“Oh, no. Of course not. Are you crazy?”

We cackled over our plates. In my house steak is beloved.

But a good salad still deserves a place at the table, and I find myself looking at dressing as a way to highlight flavor rather than mask it.

While I love a dish with complex flavors, for the most part I give my vegetable preparation minimal attention. Salt. Pepper. Olive oil. Maybe garlic, lemon or mustard. I like how heat can transform a veggie and how raw veggies can be bathed in their own juices. I find them to be plenty complex on their own.

When I go for variety in flavor, I change up the ingredient list rather than the preparation. I might make a salad without lettuce, or add hearts of palm or sprinkle it with chopped olives. Though every version gets dressed with the same salt, pepper and olive oil, they taste delightfully different.

This brings me to my next point: I consider a fussy salad unfit for my table. I would rather dress the whole thing at once and toss it, too — in my opinion, a salad that is unincorporated with its dressing is as bad as an overdressed salad.

A few ideas to keep your salads interesting: Pick a flaky sea salt. Invest in a fancy grained mustard such as Maille or the cult favorite Beaver deli mustard. Keep a small bottle of fruity olive oil.

Be reckless and dress the salad directly in the bowl, tasting as you go.

KALE AND POTATO SALAD

5 red potatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cups kale, chopped and loosely packed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced and chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons grainy deli mustard

2 teaspoons vinegar

Boil 2 quarts salted water. Boil potatoes about 10 minutes or until tender but not falling apart. Drain and place in large bowl.

Meanwhile, in pan over medium, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add kale and garlic, tossing as you cook. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. When kale is reduced and wilted to about a quarter of original volume, add to bowl with the potatoes.

Add onions to bowl. While still hot, toss ingredients with mustard, vinegar and rest of olive oil, plus more salt if necessary. Serve warm or cold. Serves 4 to 5.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 5 servings and not including salt to taste): 320 calories, 2.5 g fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 9 g protein