Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Saladby Nigella Lawson
The star chef combines improbable ingredients that beguile the palate.
As improbable as this combination of ingredients might sound, it is utterly fantastic. The flavors beguile the palate, at once salty and sweet, light and rich, savory and refreshing. And while you can pare it down to the essential contrast and serve no more than a plate of chunked watermelon, sprinkled with feta and spritzed with lime, the full-length version—with thinly sliced red onion, black olives, and chopped parsley—is hardly troublesome to make and totally worth the effort.
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Fava and Yellow Beans with Radicchio, Goat Cheese and Anise-Orange Vinaigretteby Rick Tramonto
This hearty concoction from Chicago’s best is fit for an Italian grandmother.
One bite of this salad and you’ll surely imagine your Italian grandmother calling to you in the background. This classic anise-orange vinaigrette—made with Sambuca, naturally—tops a salad of yellow wax beans (which make the salad so bright, especially in contrast with the reddish purple of the radicchio). Because beans are at the height of their season, feel free to use fillet beans, Romano beans or runner beans, whatever is piled high at the market.
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Flank Steak Thinly Sliced over Arugula with Garlic and Lemon Oilby Diane Morgan
A veteran cookbook author’s solution to the wimpy salad.
Sometimes the word “salad” conjures images of thin women at lunch, shuffling their food around on their plates. We’re putting an end to that association right now. The main feature of this salad is flank steak, rubbed with garlic and grilled over a hot fire to create a perfectly seared crust. Served over a bed of peppery arugula and dressed with a simple lemon and olive oil, salad doesn’t get much less prissy than this.
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Summer Crab Salad with Carrots, Basil, and Lime by Susan Spicer
A ceviche-like salad from a chef with New Orleans roots.
All along the Gulf Coast, crab is plentiful and almost cheap during the summer. It has a luxurious flavor, but it’s still light. In this ceviche-like salad, the lime and basil enhance the warm-weather flavors. The salty capers are a good foil for the sweetness of the crab and carrots. Serve this refreshing combination on lettuce leaves, or in a parfait or martini glass, garnished with a wedge of lime and some tortilla chips.
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Corn, Cilantro, and Arugula Salad with Yogurt Dressingby Deborah Szekely and Deborah Schneider
A colorful Mexican salad from Latin American experts.
This colorful salad is a burst of Mexican tastes featuring summer stars: barely cooked sweet corn, waves of dark green, peppery arugula leaves, and a tangy, creamy dressing. The combination of cilantro in two forms—fresh green leaves and crushed coriander seeds, which have a distinct flavor of their own—is very interesting. Look for unusual radish varieties like lovely pink and green watermelon radishes.
Click here for the recipe.
