Portuguese Salad

This Portuguese salad is on every restaurant table across my adopted country. Leafy greens, ripe tomatoes, white onion, and a simple oregano vinaigrette made with good olive oil and white wine vinegar. It's bright, fresh, and ready in about 10 minutes.

If you're building a seafood spread, this salad pairs beautifully alongside Whole Fish, Grilled Calamari or Seafood Rice.

Ingredients for Simple Portuguese Salad

Lots of options for substituting what you have, what you love, or what's in season. Follow your heart when choosing tomatoes (in the dead of winter, cherry tomatoes are the pro move), as well as the lettuce.

Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Most pratos do dias (that's the Portuguese for "plate of the day") come with rice and fries. But spend enough time here and you'll learn the move: swap the fries for boiled potatoes and add the salad to make a lighter, brighter meal that doesn't put you to sleep.

The salad itself is comically simple. Sometimes it arrives already dressed with a sprinkle of dried oregano on top. Other times, the salad arrives with a little caddy - olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper - and you dress it yourself at the table. Either way, the ingredients are the same.

This isn't a chopped and composed salad with seventeen things going on. It's a few quality ingredients doing all the work. For me, the tomatoes are the star - in Portugal, you'll find oxheart tomatoes, which are deeply flavorful in season, fleshy, and beautiful. Outside of Portugal, heirloom tomatoes are the closest equivalent. Out of season, cherry tomatoes are your best bet. White wine vinegar keeps the dressing light and bright, but you can use red wine vinegar for a bigger punch of acid.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Make the dressing. 

Add olive oil, white wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt, and pepper to a small jar with a lid. Shake well.

Step 2: Prep the vegetables. 

Wash the lettuce leaves and tear if especially large - but no cutting! Wash the tomatoes and cut into wedges. Halve and thinly slice the white onion.

Step 3: Dress and toss. 

I add the lettuce to the bowl, drizzle lightly with dressing and toss to coat. Then layer on tomatoes and onion and top with a little more dressing. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or a splash more vinegar if needed. Serve immediately.

What lettuce works best for Portuguese salad? 

Any leafy variety - red leaf, green leaf or a combination of all of the above all work. You want something that wilts just slightly under the dressing. Iceberg is too watery and doesn't absorb the vinaigrette as well, and romaine isn't very common in Portugal - although it would work with this recipe!

What does Portuguese salad go with? 

In Portugal, it's almost always served alongside a grilled main - fish, shrimp, calamari, steak, or pork. On a seafood-focused table, it's particularly good next to anything grilled or pan-seared, since the bright vinaigrette cuts through richer flavors.

Can I make this ahead? 

Make the dressing up to 3 days in advance and store it in the jar in the fridge - just shake before using. Prep the vegetables a few hours ahead if needed, but dress the salad right before serving. Once dressed, it serve quickly.

Can I add other vegetables? 

Absolutely. Shredded carrot, sliced cucumber and whole olives are common additions. Sometimes I add a little grated garlic or a squeeze of lemon to the dressing. The base recipe is intentionally simple, but it's customizable.

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