There comes a time when one has to make a choice about a superlative that will stay with one for the rest of one’s life. “Best” is right up there with “Worst” as an all-encompassing word that leaves the recipient in no doubt about your opinion.

It is with this post that I tackle the “Best Salad in the World?”. I put the question mark at the end as it’s the best salad for ME, but it might not be for you. But it probably will be if you make it.

There’s a nice northern Italian restaurant on the ground floor of a building in West LA that I used to work in, and one day I ended up eating at my desk, yet forgetting about a lunch meeting at the restaurant (called “Il Moro”, pidgin Italian for “Tomorrow”). So, upon ordering at the restaurant, I decided to eat light and ordered a salad called the “Garga del Moro”. I enjoyed it so much that I set about creating it at home. Here’s my version of the “Best Salad in the World”. NO ifs, ands or buts.

The ingredients are simple, as is the preparation:

INGREDIENTS

– Pine nuts (the kind that come in a bag)
– Avocado (the kind that comes in an avocado)
– Tomatoes (the kind that grew in a hothouse)
– Any sort of Italian salad dressing (the kind that comes in a bottle)
– Hearts of Palm (the kind that come in a can)
– Italian Salad Mix (the kind that you can get in any grocery store)
– Garlic powder (the kind that comes in a plastic container)

PREPARATION

– Put the salad leaves in a bowl
– Add the tomatoes (cut or slice them first)
– Add the hearts of palm (cut them into 1/4-1/2 inch slices)
– Add a tablespoon or so of pine nuts per serving
– Toss the salad with your fingers to mix it up
– Cut the avocado and use 1/4 of it for each serving
– Mix some dressing with garlic powder and pour on the salad
– Season with ground, black pepper

That’s it! Will probably cost $12-$15 for 4-5 servings and can be prepared in well under 10 minutes including clean-up. Enjoy The Best Salad in the World – I do, and everybody I’ve made it for has asked for the recipe and details on where it came from. Thanks, Il Moro!

One more variant (especially liked from Quarrygirl fan Bill over at blindstaggers) is to chop up some baked, seasoned tofu and put it in the salad right before you toss it. Seasonings that work are “spicy Thai” (chillies, lemongrass and the like) or “sesame” (shallow fry the tofu in a little sesame oil, cover with sesame seeds). These can add quite a flavorful texture to the end result and you can usually pick up packages of tofu alread seasoned at most grocery stores.

Finally, here’s a close-up of the finished salad. YUM!