Food52 Mighty Salads

It all starts with the radishes—seared, then poached in brown butter. You could add some baby kale and acid and stop there, but keep following along. Add nuoc cham, which really is a puckery Vietnamese dipping sauce made from fish sauce and lime juice. Warmed by the radishes and butter, it’s rendered round, substantial. Chicken (rotisserie chicken from the store is a great option) and rice then happily join in, and the whole thing gets heaped on wisps and doodles of spicy greens and cilantro and their stems (yes, you want the stems). When our books editor cobbled this recipe together with ideas from blogger Sarah Britton, as well as Merrill’s mom and Momofuku, she wanted to keep adding ingredients—sesame seeds, sprouts, orange slices—but resisted before things got unruly. The solution: just make it again.

1. To make the nuoc cham, combine the fish sauce, lime zest and juice, and sugar in a jar, seal, and shake until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the garlic, chiles, and a few grinds of pepper, then let everything hang out for around 30 minutes (you can eat the nuoc cham immediately, but the flavors won’t be as developed). Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed (if it’s too puckery, add more sugar). The nuoc cham will keep in its jar in the fridge for up to a week.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the radishes, cut side down, and a pinch of salt and sauté until tender and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

4. When the radishes are ready, add 3 tablespoons of the nuoc cham, and stir to coat the radishes. Stir in the chicken and brown rice. Immediately pour the mixture over the greens, drizzling the nuoc cham all over.

5. Gently toss together just to coat the leaves. Taste and add more nuoc cham, if you like. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top and serve immediately.

Smoky cured chorizo has a way of turning a summery salad downright feisty; its spices sneak out into the vinaigrette while the slices soften and fold. Factor in rounds of cucumber, tiny cubes of cantaloupe, and tomatoes, feta, and mint, and this no-cook salad is practically spoonable. Ladle it next to grilled fish, shrimp, crusty bread—even black beans, or right from the tub.

1. In a large bowl, combine the cantaloupe, chorizo, tomatoes, and cucumber. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and toss together.

2. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and toss again. Fold in the feta and mint. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon juice until the flavors pop.

3. Set aside at room temperature for at least 5 minutes, or up to an hour, to let the flavors meld. (The salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours; for the best results, let sit at room temp for 10 to 15 minutes and add the tomatoes and mint just before serving.)

When the brainiacs behind the blog Ideas in Food, H. Alexander Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, tell you to pickle chorizo, your face might contort just thinking about all the spice and vinegar and pow. But their way is more strategic than chaotic, combining 5 tablespoons (75ml) each of soy sauce and balsamic, sherry, and rice vinegars with 8 ounces (225g) thinly sliced dried Spanish chorizo in a sterilized jar. After refrigerating for 2 days, you have sweetened chorizo and a potent liquid that’s revving up for a full-throttle vinaigrette. Use the pickled pieces or a dressing made of their by-products in a salad with roasted vegetables (this page), earthy grains (this page), or seafood (this page). The chorizo would also not be out of place on top of stew, beans, sautéed greens, or a baked potato. The pickled chorizo keeps in the fridge for up to forever.

Steak & Tossed Salsa Verde Salad

Grilled steak and alliums + greens + nuts/herbs/cheese + garlicky vinaigrette

Serves 4 | From Emily Connor

Here’s a salad to make grillside, with a glass of rosé in one hand. Instead of whirring up an Italian salsa verde with summer’s sprightly herbs and spicy greens, use them as the salad’s greens. Salsa verde’s other piquant ingredients—anchovies, garlic, lemon, and capers—dress the greens, steak, and some charred red onions. Now, where’d that rosé bottle go?

1½ pounds (680g) hanger or flank steak

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, for brushing

1 large red onion, cut crosswise into ½-inch (1.3cm) rounds

6 cups (120g) loosely packed watercress and arugula leaves

¼ cup (5g) loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

¼ cup (10g) loosely packed fresh mint leaves, torn if large

½ cup (50g) toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

2 ounces (55g) Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Lemon-Anchovy Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove

2 anchovy fillets

Grated zest of 2 lemons

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons capers, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1. Pat the steak dry with paper towels, generously season with salt, and let sit at room temperature for an hour.

2. Heat the grill to medium-high heat and brush your grates clean. Lightly brush the steak on both sides with olive oil. Brush the onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Grill the steak and onion until the onion is nicely charred and the steak’s cooked to your desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes per side (for medium-rare, the internal temperature should reach 130°F/55°C). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and the onion to a plate. Let the steak rest for about 15 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain.

4. To make the vinaigrette, finely chop and smash the garlic and anchovies into a paste with the side of your knife. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, capers, mustard, red pepper flakes, and olive oil until emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. On a large serving platter or in a bowl, combine the watercress, arugula, parsley, mint, walnuts, and Parmesan. Add the vinaigrette, a little at a time, and toss with your hands to lightly dress the salad. Top the greens with the sliced steak and onion. Serve with the remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Grilled Cheese Croutons

A grilled cheese cut into crouton-size cubes can go where sandwiches haven’t gone (throughout your salad, for one) and can do what a full-size one just can’t—or shouldn’t. While you may love a stinky or blue cheese, eating a whole grilled cheese of it can be a lot to handle. But make that sandwich (layer on some sautéed onions, apples, or bacon, while you’re at it), then cut it into smaller-than-bite-size cubes or triangles, and you have multilayered croutons for your every hearty salad.

Bloody Mary Steak Salad

Grilled meat + crunchy veg + briny, salty, spicy

Serves 4 | From Ali Slagle

Bloody Marys and their garnishes are not tame specimens—or, rather, they shouldn’t be—so a salad rendition(!) needs to follow suit. Because the skirt steak gets grilled naked and then marinated after the fact, the boisterous ingredients (pickles, horseradish, hot sauce, and friends) drive into the steak instead of shimmy around it. Edit or add garnishes based on what you like to balance atop your drink. Any which way, the result (reminiscent of Thai beef salad) isn’t shy—both at room temperature but also warmed with some eggs for a steak-and-eggs situation. And go ahead, serve it with a Bloody Mary.

1½ pounds (680g) skirt or hanger steak

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1½ teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce

2 cups (300g) cherry tomatoes, halved

½ cup (60g) thinly sliced red onion

½ cup (50g) sliced celery, cut into thin half-moons, plus some leaves if you’d like

¼ cup (35g) chopped briny green olives, plus 2 tablespoons olive brine

2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup (35g) crumbled blue cheese

½ cup (10g) loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Heat the grill to medium-high and brush your grates clean, or heat a grill pan over high heat on the stove top. Grill the unseasoned steak until browned well on both sides and cooked to your desired doneness, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare (the internal temperature should reach 130°F/55°C). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both vinegars, the lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Stir in the tomatoes, onion, celery, olives and brine, and jalapeños. Grind a good amount of pepper over the top and stir.

3. Cut the meat across the grain into ½-inch (1.3cm) slices and mix into the salad. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.

4. Stir in the blue cheese, parsley, and celery leaves and serve.

A Speedy Way to Slice Little Tomatoes

Slicing slippery little tomato after slippery tomato can get as labor-intensive as pitting olives (this page), or picking herbs off their stems (this page)—but we’ve got a trick! Grab the lids from two plastic containers, and place one, right side up, on your counter. Fill it with a layer of tomatoes. Place the other lid, upside down, on top of the tomatoes. Gently press down with your nondominant hand to keep the little dudes in place. With the serrated knife in your other hand, gingerly slice through the tomatoes. Continue throughout all of tomato season.

Spicy Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

Grilled meat + thinly sliced veg + noodles + herbs + citrusy-spicy dressing

Serves 4 | From Merrill Stubbs

This salad of bouncy noodles has charred chicken peeking through the loops—along with a whole lot of tricks. What your other salads can learn is that bone-in chicken thighs can be blackened and the meat pulled right off, so rich it couldn’t possibly be chicken; that gutsy fish sauce can turn sweet and nutty with a little help from friends; that rice noodles will resist mushiness after a rinse in cold water. The only other secret is the julienned vegetables, which disappear into the tangle like blades of grass.

1½ tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon sriracha

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

2 cups (140g) shredded savoy cabbage

1 cup (110g) julienned carrots

1 cup (80g) thinly sliced sugar snap peas

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño, thinly sliced

Sea salt

8 ounces (225g) pad thai rice noodles

Handful of basil and mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Lime-Sriracha Dressing

6 tablespoons (90ml) walnut oil

⅓ cup (80ml) lime juice

5 tablespoons (75ml) fish sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 teaspoons sriracha

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon sea salt

1. In a wide shallow bowl, stir together the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, chile-garlic sauce, sriracha, and garlic. Add the chicken and turn to coat thoroughly and evenly. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 3 to 6 hours.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, sugar snap peas, bell pepper, scallions, jalapeño, and a couple pinches of salt.

3. To make the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

4. Let the chicken come to room temperature. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. When the water boils, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain under cold running water for a minute or two. Drain again and add to the vegetables.

5. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, and sprinkle each lightly with salt on all sides. Cook the thighs, fat side down, on the grill until the fat is crisp and charred, about 7 minutes. Flip the thighs and grill until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes more. To check for doneness, slice into a thigh to make sure that there isn’t any pink remaining. Remove from the grill. When the thighs are cool enough to handle, cut the meat off the bones and then slice it crosswise, so that each slice includes a little strip of charred, crispy fat.

6. Toss the vegetables and noodles with about two-thirds of the dressing. Taste and add more dressing if you like. Fold in the chicken, basil, and mint, and serve.

Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Tomato-Cucumber Salad

Kebabs + vegetable chunks + herbs + yogurt dressing

Serves 4 | From Emily Connor

Every good recipe is also a launching pad, and because this one has a few components that go really well together, it’s a moment to spring forth and make it your own way. Make it a leafier salad with lots of whole herbs, finely dice the cucumbers for more of a relish, serve the sauce as a dip or coat the vegetables with it (a dressing is a sauce, basically—see this page). Nestle the kebabs with other salads, like grilled corn and barley (this page) or lemon-dill orzo (this page). Eat it all up in a pita, or swirled through grains. You thought you were only getting one salad out of this, didn’t you?

1½ cups (355ml) full-fat plain yogurt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more for drizzling

2 pounds (900g) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5cm) chunks

Kosher salt

2 cups (300g) cherry tomatoes, halved

3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon tahini, stirred in the jar

Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves or mint, chopped

1. In a wide, shallow bowl, stir together 1 cup (240ml) of the yogurt, the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, Aleppo, and lemon zest and juice.

2. Add the lamb and turn to coat the chunks thoroughly and evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. (The longer the meat marinates, the better it will be.)

3. Remove the lamb from the marinade, letting any excess drip off. Thread the lamb onto skewers, season generously with salt, and let stand at room temperature while the grill heats up.

4. Heat the grill to medium-high heat and brush your grates clean. Grill the lamb until cooked to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare (the internal temperature should reach 140°F/60°C). Let the lamb rest for about 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, season the tomatoes with salt. In a colander set over the sink, salt the cucumbers to draw out the moisture.

6. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup (115ml) of yogurt and the tahini and season with salt.

7. Just before serving, in a large bowl, stir together the tomatoes, cucumber (discarding any accumulated liquid), and parsley and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Serve on a large platter with lamb kebabs—tahini yogurt on the side.

Curried Chicken, Grape & Cheddar Salad

Grilled meat and bread + curry + lettuce + fruit + hard cheese + vinegar

Serves 4 | From Emily Connor

When curried chicken, grapes, cheddar, and grilled bread get piled one by one onto Bibb lettuce, the soft leaves nestle all the apparently random ingredients together into one smart, if haphazard, dish. Emily got this idea from a similarly strange but good salad at a bistro in Paris—and we’re sure glad she did. The chicken’s marinade (equal parts curry powder, yogurt, and olive oil) is a good one to remember for other meats, and layering instead of tossing the ingredients means wispy and weighty ones can stay side by side in their ideal, uncrushed forms—ready for you to finagle perfect forkfuls.

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1 tablespoon plain yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pounds (900g) skin-on chicken thighs, bone-in or boneless

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 (½-inch/1.3cm) slices crusty bread (such as ciabatta or sourdough)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 small heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

1 cup (150g) Concord, Thomcords, or red Thompson grapes, halved and seeded

2 to 3 ounces (55 to 85g) aged cheddar, crumbled or cut into small pieces

Sherry Vinaigrette

¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl, stir together the curry powder, yogurt, and olive oil. Rub the paste all over the chicken, making sure to get it under the skin. Transfer the chicken to a wide shallow bowl and let marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours, or up to overnight.

2. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, season with salt, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Heat the grill to medium-high and brush your grates clean. Grill the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C), about 5 minutes per side. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then slice into ½-inch (1.3cm) slices.

5. Meanwhile, brush each slice of bread with olive oil, using just enough to coat each side. Season with a pinch of salt, and grill, checking it frequently, until charred in spots but soft in the center, a few minutes per side. Remove from the grill and, once cool, cut into ½-inch (1.3cm) cubes.

6. In a large bowl, toss the lettuce leaves with just enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat and season with salt and pepper. On a serving platter or individual plates, layer the lettuce leaves with the chicken, grapes, cheddar, and bread. Serve immediately, passing the remaining vinaigrette at the table.

Slow-Roasted Duck & Apple Salad

Fall-apart tender meat + warm fruit + hearty greens + nuts + vinegar

Serves 2 | From Ginger’s Kitchen

When Abbie Argersinger, Arielle Arizpe, Annaliese Bischoff, and Helen Morille—and dog, Ginger!—get together to cook, they call themselves Ginger’s Kitchen, and great things happen. This salad is no exception. Practically speaking, it simplifies the process of cooking duck (low and slow in the oven) and puts fall apples to excellent use, but the real reason to make this is that it will take you to a picnic blanket somewhere close to Dijon. Make sure your mustard greens are spicy, and that someone brings the Sancerre, chilled.

1 duck leg

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla)

2 Granny Smith apples

¼ cup (60ml) apple cider

¼ cup (60ml) Calvados or another brandy

4 fresh sage leaves

1 small bunch mustard greens

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Good aged balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

¼ cup (30g) toasted pistachios

1. Heat the oven to 250°F (120°C).

2. Generously season the duck leg with salt and pepper. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the duck leg until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a baking dish. Cut the onion and ½ apple into four wedges each and add to the baking dish. Pour the duck fat from the pan over everything, followed by the cider and Calvados. Lay the sage leaves on top, cover it all tightly with aluminum foil, and slide the baking dish into the oven for 2½ to 3 hours.

3. Searing the duck has probably completely destroyed your stove top with fat splatters—now’s the time to clean up a bit. Also wash and trim your mustard greens and chop them into ½-inch (1.3cm) ribbons—keep them in the fridge until you need them again.

4. When the duck is completely fall-apart tender—to see if it’s ready, give it a little poke with a fork—remove it from the oven.

5. In a griddle pan or sauté or cast-iron pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cut the remaining 1½ apples into twelve wedges and griddle the wedges until they are just brown but not mushy, about 5 minutes per side.

6. Arrange the mustard greens on a platter. Remove the skin from the duck and use a fork to pull the meat away from the bone and shred it—be sure to avoid the tricky little bones that want to go along. Arrange the duck and apples on top of the greens, followed by the roasted onion and apple from the duck pan. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of pan drippings and the vinegar and sprinkle with the pistachios to serve.

Thai Pork Salad with Crisped Rice

Ground protein + crispy rice (maybe cereal) + lettuce bed + alliums

Serves 4 | From Emily Connor

A play on pork larb, this layered salad is everything you want from Thai food: bright, clean flavors, a heady depth from crispy pork bits and fish sauce, and heat that tickles rather than burns. Raw vegetables are there to play nice with the warm pork topping, and it’s all topped off with quick-toasted, spicy Rice Krsipies that stands in for, and arguably bests, the toasted rice powder in traditional larb. Despite a long ingredient list, this dish comes together quickly and holds up well (just be sure to pack up the lettuce in a separate container). If you’re not a pork person, swap in ground beef or chicken.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup (20g) crisped rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste

Large pinch of sugar

1 pound (450g) ground pork

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 fresh red Thai chiles (or to taste), minced. or a pinch of red pepper flakes

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more as needed

4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 cup (20g) loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ cup (10g) fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

1 large head Bibb lettuce, or 2 to 3 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated

2 Persian cucumbers or ½ English cucumber, thinly sliced

1. In a large nonstick skillet or a wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the crisped rice cereal and cayenne and stir until browned just slightly, about 2 minutes, turning down the heat if necessary to prevent burning. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the pan.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the fish sauce and sugar.

3. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring frequently to break the meat into small pieces, until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chiles, and shallot, stirring to evenly distribute them with the pork, and continue to cook, pressing down firmly to help the pork brown and stirring just once or twice, until the pork is golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and discard any excess oil. Stir in the fish sauce–sugar mixture and cook a few seconds longer to warm through. Off the heat, add 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Taste and adjust the heat, acidity, and sweetness if needed. Let cool for about a minute, then toss in the scallions, cilantro, and mint.

4. On a large serving platter or plates, arrange a layer of lettuce leaves, then top with some of the pork mixture and cucumbers. Continue layering in the same way until you’ve used all of your ingredients. Scatter the crisped rice over the top. Serve immediately.