Laat de sla in het vergiet uitlekken voordat je de dressing maakt.

Laat is the imperative form of laten, so the sentence is giving an instruction or command: Let / leave the lettuce to drain.

In recipes and instructions, Dutch often uses the imperative this way:

• Snijd de tomaten. = Cut the tomatoes.
• Meng alles goed. = Mix everything well.
• Laat de sla uitlekken. = Let the lettuce drain.

So Laat here does not have an explicit subject like jij. It is understood as you.

It is closest to let in English, but the idea is often somewhere between let and leave.

Laat de sla uitlekken means:

• allow the lettuce to drain
• leave the lettuce to drain

So in practical terms, it means: put the lettuce in the colander and give it time to drain.

Sla means lettuce.

It is a de-word, so the correct article is de:

• de sla

Like English lettuce, sla is often used as an uncountable food noun:

• Ik eet graag sla. = I like eating lettuce/salad greens.

In this sentence, de sla refers to the specific lettuce you are working with in the recipe.

Het vergiet means the colander (or sometimes strainer, depending on context).

It is a het-word:

• het vergiet

So:

• in het vergiet = in the colander

This is very common kitchen vocabulary.

Dutch uses in because the lettuce is physically placed in the colander.

So:

• in het vergiet = in the colander

That matches English quite closely here. Dutch often uses prepositions very literally in kitchen instructions.

Uitlekken means to drain, to drip dry, or to let liquid run off.

In this sentence, it means that excess water should come off the lettuce.

So:

• de sla uitlekken = let the lettuce drain

It is a very useful verb in cooking contexts:

• Laat de pasta uitlekken. = Let the pasta drain.
• Bonen laten uitlekken. = Let beans drain.

Yes. Uitlekken is a separable verb:

• prefix: uit
• base verb: lekken

In Dutch, separable verbs are often written as one word in the infinitive:

• uitlekken

But when the verb is conjugated as the main verb in a main clause, the prefix often separates:

• Het water lekt uit de fles. = The water leaks out of the bottle.

In your sentence, uitlekken stays together because it is an infinitive after laat:

• Laat de sla ... uitlekken

Because it is an infinitive that depends on laat.

The structure is:

• Laat
  • object + infinitive

So:

• Laat de sla in het vergiet uitlekken.

This is a very common Dutch pattern:

• Laat het brood afkoelen. = Let the bread cool.
• Laat de saus koken. = Let the sauce boil.

The infinitive usually comes near the end of that clause.

Voordat means before when it introduces a whole clause.

So:

• voordat je de dressing maakt = before you make the dressing

You use voordat when what follows has its own subject and verb.

Compare:

• voor het eten = before the meal
• voordat je eet = before you eat

So here voordat is correct because je de dressing maakt is a full clause.

Because voordat introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses the conjugated verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• je maakt de dressing = main clause word order
• voordat je de dressing maakt = subordinate clause word order

This is one of the most important Dutch word-order patterns to learn.

Je is the unstressed form of jij.

In ordinary sentences, Dutch usually uses je unless there is emphasis or contrast.

So:

• voordat je de dressing maakt = neutral, normal
• voordat jij de dressing maakt = more emphatic, like before you make the dressing (not someone else)

In recipe instructions, the neutral je is much more natural.

Yes. Dressing is a common loanword in Dutch, especially in cooking.

It takes the article de:

• de dressing

So:

• de dressing maken = make the dressing

Dutch often uses English or French food terms, especially for modern or international cooking vocabulary.

Yes, but in recipes it often means prepare.

So:

• de dressing maken can mean make the dressing or prepare the dressing

Dutch uses maken very broadly in cooking:

• soep maken = make soup
• een saus maken = make a sauce
• een salade maken = make a salad

Yes, that is possible, but the original sentence sounds very natural.

Both are understandable:

• Laat de sla in het vergiet uitlekken
• Laat de sla uitlekken in het vergiet

The version with in het vergiet before uitlekken flows very naturally in instructions because it tells you the location before the final verb. Dutch is often flexible with this kind of word order, as long as the sentence remains clear.

Yes, very typical.

Dutch recipe language often uses:

• imperative forms: Snijd, meng, laat
• simple everyday verbs: maken, doen, roeren
• subordinate clauses with voordat, terwijl, als

So Laat de sla in het vergiet uitlekken voordat je de dressing maakt sounds exactly like natural instructional Dutch.