Salads

The most important step in making a lentil salad is perfecting the cooking of the lentils so they maintain their shape and firm-tender bite. There turns out to be two key steps. The first is to brine the lentils in warm salt water. With brining, the lentil’s skin softens, which leads to fewer blowouts. The second step is to cook the lentils in the oven, which heats them gently and uniformly. Once we had perfectly cooked lentils, all we had left to do was to pair the earthy beans with a tart vinaigrette and boldly flavored mix-ins. 

I nearly always serve a green salad with dinner, but only rarely serve one for dinner. That’s because the best main-course salads are precariously balanced things, requiring planning and forethought to come out well. You need to make sure that your mix of vegetables, proteins and starches hits all the requisite flavor and textural notes – sweet, salty, tangy, fresh, crisp, soft and rich. In the end, a main-course salad should feel both virtuous and a little decadent, and eminently satisfying.

My housemate Jason is from Phoenix, where a particularly prolific grapefruit tree grows in his yard. His mother sent us several plump, pungent fruits, which I decided to pair with thin slices of fresh fennel. The chickpeas are tossed with pimenton de la vera, a Spanish smoked paprika (available at Christina’s Spice & Specialty Foods, 1255 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 617-576-2090). Of the three classifications, the “dulce’’ variety is best for this recipe. Pimenton de la vera literally makes everything it touches infinitely better.

In an interview with "The Sriracha Cookbook" author Randy Clemens, he told me that when they did the photos for his book, he was surprised that everyone devoured a big bowl of tropical fruit salad with sriracha-sesame vinaigrette.

Clemens, 26, a California-based culinary school grad, came up with endless dishes on which to add some sauce, including grits, cornbread, butter, sour cream, and salt.

He said that the sauce is popular all over Thailand and Vietnam. One Thai brand he particularly likes is called Shark, which has a sweetness plus a kick.

A confession: Every Thanksgiving I cringe (I hope not enough for others at the table to notice) when the inevitable dish of marshmallow-topped or otherwise candied sweet potatoes appears. Sweet potatoes possess such an individual, earthy sweetness of their own, I can’t help but wonder why cooks push it into overdrive? Here is a recipe that gives Thanksgiving sweet potatoes a slight spin, keeping the sweetness in check with savory and piquant complements: black beans and radishes in a salad.

Fiber-rich jicama is crunchy and refreshing; its texture is similar to an apple's. Sub chef Shaw's salad for classic Waldorf at your next picnic. No mayo means less fat, while chile powder and cheese add major flavor.

While nothing could be easier to toss in a salad, mild-mannered baby spinach always seems to fall flat. What could we do to ruffle this pile of leaves? Few greens can beat the convenience of prewashed baby spinach, but these tender leaves—and their flavor—go limp in salads. We wanted a salad that made the most of sweet, tender baby spinach.

This refreshing summer salad can sit in the refrigerator for a few hours without deteriorating, so it makes a great choice for bringing to work or to a summer picnic.

The slaw would be perfect with grilled pork or lamb, or use it as a topping for fish tacos.

A light herb dressing pairs nicely with spicy radishes and sweet peas — both in season right now — in this colorful, crunchy summer salad.