Chapter Two

Salads

French Salad with Hot Cheese Toast

This recipe is inspired by a dish my host family would often make for me when I was studying abroad in Toulouse, France. The French name for this dish is “Salade au Chèvre Chaud” which translates to “Salad with Hot Goat Cheese.”

It is pretty safe to imagine that putting a melted-cheese toast on plain greens would make them taste a lot better, but the real star here is the honey, which adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

Ingredients

Equipment

Instructions

  1. 1. Toast a piece of bread or simply use a good, sturdy untoasted slice.
  2. 2. Spread the cheese on top. If you are using a non-spreadable cheese, microwave the bread with the cheese on top until the cheese melts.
  3. 3. Mix together equal parts mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of brown sugar in a cup and then pour the dressing over your greens.
  4. 4. Toss the salad to distribute the dressing.
  5. 5. Place the cheese toast on top of the salad, and drizzle honey over the entire dish.

BLT Chopped Salad

You won’t find many actual salad recipes in this cookbook because I generally don’t find them very satisfying as a meal. This one, however, is loaded with bacon, feta, corn, and avocado — ingredients that are packed with flavor and also really filling.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Prepare the salad by adding tomato, avocado, corn, and feta to your lettuce.
  2. 2. Crumble a strip of bacon over the top of the salad.
  3. 3. Make the dressing by mixing olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a cup or small bowl, and then pour it over the salad.

Simple Vinaigrette

Skip the bottled, preservative-laden dressings at the salad bar and make your own. It is as easy as choosing your favorite combination of oil, vinegar, lemon, herbs, and spices. Give everything a quick stir in a cup, and it's ready to dress any salad.

Panzanella

If Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa — one of my culinary idols) were a food, I imagine she would be Panzanella, an Italian bread salad, because it is a classy, composed, rustic yet commanding dish with serious flavor. Each bite is bursting with the juices from the oil-and-vinegar-soaked pieces of bread.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Break the bread into pieces in a bowl. Add the tomato, onions, olives, and peppers.
  2. 2. Dress the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and mix so that all the bread pieces and vegetables are nicely coated with the dressing.
  3. 3. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan, pepper, and a little salt.

Lemony Kale Salad

Before all you kale skeptics turn the page — I promise this salad will be a revelation. Kale is hitting dining halls everywhere, and perhaps it’s time you got on board with this new-wave leafy green. This recipe mellows the otherwise strong vegetal taste of kale with lemon, cheese, and croutons. Case in point: it is the only kale dish my kale-hating friend, Eliza, will eat.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Make the dressing by combining the olive oil and a little lemon juice in a bowl. Toss in a generous handful of crumbled croutons and stir.
  2. 2. Mix the dressing into the kale; toss well.
  3. 3. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.

Tender Kale

An odd but great tip to give your kale a silkier, more palatable texture: try rubbing the leaves together before dressing. Some call this massaging your kale, and I find that pretty strange — but I promise, it actually works!

Tzatziki Chicken Salad

Tzatziki is a constant reminder for me of how perfect and versatile a food plain yogurt is. A common way to eat yogurt is to mix in some granola and fruit and eat it as a snack or as breakfast. But if you add a little garlic, olive oil, and lemon, it becomes a refreshing, savory sauce that makes for a healthier, Mediterranean take on traditional chicken salad.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Cut chicken and cucumber into bite-size pieces and put into a bowl.
  2. 2. Add a few spoonfuls of yogurt and toss the ingredients. The chicken should be thoroughly coated by but not drowning in the yogurt.
  3. 3. Stir in a little bit of olive oil and squeeze in the juice of one to two lemon wedges.
  4. 4. Add garlic, salt, and pepper.
  5. 5. Enjoy on a sandwich, in a pita, with chips, or by itself.