Recently, I introduced you to my mother-in-law, Letty, who is the best cook I know. She never uses a recipe and everything she makes is phenomenal. Today, I’d like to share another one of the invaluable recipes I’ve learned from her.

We make a lot of salads in our family. We improvise the components based on what’s on hand, but the basic formula is this:

• Mixed Greens
• Various chopped veggies (cucumber, tomato, avocado, red onion, bell peppers)
• Toasted nuts (almost always walnuts or pine nuts)
• Crumbled cheese (blue or feta depending on the choice of nuts)
• Letty’s Salad Dressing

I like to chop up the lettuce a little bit when I make salads. I think it makes the salad way easier and more pleasant to eat.

The concept for Letty’s salad dressing recipe may not sound revolutionary, but I think what makes it special is that it goes perfectly with almost any salad you could create. The flavors complement your ingredients, but never overwhelm or mask the tastes of the salad goodies. Plus, best of all, you can throw it together in about 60 seconds and use it all week.

We used to make a full-fat version, but now we’ve basically all switched to a formula with far less oil. Here’s how to make either version:

Letty’s Super-Versatile Delicious Salad Dressing

• Use a cruet with markings for vinegar, water, and oil. Fill up to the V line with rice vinegar.
• Fill up to the W line with water.
• For the light version, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. For the full-fat version, add olive oil all the way up to the O line. Personally, I don’t like light or diet food, but I can’t really tell the difference between these two dressings. Try it with less oil and add more if you just can’t stand it.
• Add a teaspoon (or slightly more) of dijon mustard and two mashed cloves of fresh garlic. You can even use those little frozen minced garlic cubes from Trader Joe’s if you want to make it even easier.
• Grind a little fresh pepper into the cruet as well.
• Shake well and toss with your favorite salad.

Now I know this might not sound like a super-innovative or earth-shattering formula, but after I tried this, I felt like I’d never need or want to buy dressing from the store ever again. Best of all, I always have the ingredients on hand, which makes it extra easy.