Salads

Sweet, spicy and citrusy, this pasta salad is a make-ahead dish that works hot, cold or at room temperature, and can be served as is or with chicken, salmon or shrimp. Fresno (or jalapeño) chiles soak in a tangy honey-and-citrus dressing to soften their bite and infuse the dressing with heat, giving the overall dish a slightly sweet and spicy flavor. Juicy pieces of orange impart a sunny, vacation feel to the look and taste of the dish, while the cumin gives the dressing a warm earthiness.

For a hearty, make-ahead salad, we roasted chunks of cauliflower in a 425-degree oven. The cauliflower was covered for the first 10 minutes to cook the interiors and uncovered for another 20 minutes to brown the exteriors. We shaved the leftover core and pickled those shavings along with a thinly sliced shallot to create a tangy element for the salad. We repurposed some of that well-seasoned pickling liquid to make an arugula dressing that was stabilized with Greek yogurt.

A lighter, easier take on classic American potato salad, this version uses canned chickpeas in place of potatoes and favors Greek yogurt over mayonnaise. The trick to achieving the creamy texture of traditional potato salad is to mash some of the chickpeas lightly with a fork. It travels well, so it deserves a spot at your next picnic or desk lunch.

Here’s the thing about tabbouleh salad: Most of the ones I’ve had invert my preferred proportion of bulgur to parsley. What you usually get is a bowl of tabbouleh studded with bits of parsley. I like a salad that is mostly parsley, studded with grains of tabbouleh.

While diner-style Greek salads made with chopped romaine, crumbled feta and often grilled chicken have become ubiquitous in American restaurants, a traditional Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a simpler affair. An assembled salad of large-diced vegetables with Kalamata olives and sometimes capers, this salad has no greens at all, and the feta is served sliced on top of the salad rather than crumbled and tossed into it. A traditional Greek salad is dressed lightly with olive oil and red wine vinegar; this recipe adds garlic and oregano.

For a vivid take on lunchtime tuna salad, use oil-rich sardines and skip the mayonnaise. Emulsifying the deeply seasoned oil from the sardine tin with lemon juice and mustard makes the salad creamy like mayonnaise does but with flavors that are more intense and pronounced. Add any of the sharp, crunchy, fresh pops you like in your tuna or whitefish salad, such as capers, cornichons, pickled peppers or herbs, and eat this sardine salad over greens, on a bagel or English muffin, or between two slices of toast.

Salmon, gently roasted to a buttery medium-rare, stars in this make-ahead-friendly dish. Fruity citrus and dill join spicy radishes and ginger, and the result is a refreshing, jostling mix of juicy, crunchy, creamy, spicy and sweet. Both the salad and the salmon can be made two days ahead, and everything is good at room temperature or cold. To embellish further, consider baby greens, thinly sliced cucumbers or fennel, roasted beets, soba noodles, tostadas, furikake or chile oil.

Inspired by a kale salad my mom enjoyed at a restaurant called True Food Kitchen, I knew I had to make my own dairy-free version as soon as I was back in my kitchen. The key to this salad is finely chopping (or shredding) the kale. The lemon-garlic dressing will coat each and every tiny piece of kale, working its magical softening powers and infusing the shredded kale with so much flavour. I prefer to use Lacinato (or dinosaur) kale in this salad because it's much more delicate than traditional curly kale and it has a milder flavour.

Summertime means bountiful gardens — but sometimes we have trouble keeping up with the bounty. Zucchini is the classic culprit. We’re here to help.  We slice it raw into pearled couscous; it offers a slight crunch and cool contrast to a rich, warm tomato vinaigrette.

Summertime means bountiful gardens, but sometimes we have trouble keeping up with the bounty. Zucchini is the classic culprit. We’re here to help. We toss zucchini with mint and chives, top it with a dollop of ricotta and lemon zest, and finish with toasted pistachios and sesame seeds.