photo: ellen silverman
The magic of salad is that while it can be a clean and quiet beginning, side or ending to a savory main course, it can also be a full meal unto itself–full of protein with cheese, meats, nuts, tofu, or an egg on top; a little sweet with dry or fresh fruits; or full of vegetables you never thought would go together, but somehow fall together beautifully. Once you give yourself over to the possibilities of salad, you’ll find that they are endless. The key is to know some basics, and then every salad can be a completely new revelation.
This is what is so great about Mindy Fox’s Salads: Beyond the Bowl
She begins the book with a chapter on “Elemental Salads,”; it explores foundational ingredients and shows how you can build off a single component into countless directions. Although the book has some recipes that include ingredients unlikely to be found in everyone’s kitchen, Mindy helps bring you back to the simple pantry items that can make any salad pop. The book reassures you that not only can you mix and match–but mixing and matching is the fun of it. As a bonus, the book also has gorgeous photos by our good friend Ellen Silverman.
So leave us a comment telling us what goes into your favorite salad. On Tuesday, July 17th, we’ll randomly pick a winner to receive this beautiful book.
Related post: recipe: mamma lucia’s insalata di pomodoro (for when tomatoes are like gold)
fried egg formula for a satisfying breakfast (or lunch or dinner)
greek soul food: beets with garlic sauce (recipe)
more miso recipes: almond-miso spread + miso vinaigrette
lemon-scented olive oil (recipe + gift idea = valentine)
Kale, avocado, walnuts, dried cranberries, and red onion are all must haves!
Red onion rings marinated in red wine vinegar, often pecans, crumbled feta or maybe a thin sliced “roof” of roquefort…plus the usual suspects of lettuce, tomatoes, fresh basil, etc.
Lately I’ve been into making Vietnamese salads with whatever I have on hand from the following ingredients:
lettuce (any kind)
baked tofu (could also use chicken)
cucumber
any fresh green veggies from the garden (sugar snap peas, beans)
noodles (rice, angel hair, soba, udon)
fresh mint
fresh cilantro
a few drops of sesame oil
a splash of olive oil
a bit of vinegar (white balsamic, rice wine, white)
a bit of soy or tamari
a splash of sambal olek (or other garlic chili sauce)
A tasty, filling meal!
Arugula, Spinach, My Mom’s pickled beets (a great way to make the canned sliced beets into something utterly devine) goat or blue cheese and walnuts or pistachios. My 9-year-old can’t get enough of the beets even his classmates want them when he takes them for lunch!
Easy dinner taco salad we had last night: ground turkey (or lean beef) cooked with a little salt and chipotle salsa, fresh corn off the cob, sugar plum tomatoes, grated cheddar, sliced radishes, romaine and a simple dressing of sour cream (low fat) mayo and more chipotle salsa. Warm corn tortillas on the side. You can add whatever else you have handy – black beans, avocado, etc. Quick & yummy!
My newest favorite salad has zucchini “noodles” raw, with a walnut, oregano pesto. Zucchini and oregano are very abundant in my garden right now.
feta cheese
I can’t take credit for this, but I have a dear friend that often puts some kind of candy, just a sprinkle, in his salads. It could be a jelly bean, or a milk dud, and only a couple discretely layered in. It’s an unexpected surprise to take a bite of broccoli and get a gummy bear on the end of your fork tine..
Trying to have 2/3 veggies and 1/3 everything else on my plate every day and have already made 2 great new salads this week (updated chef’s salad and salad of green beans, cucumbers, radishes, toasted pumpkin seeds and feta with lime-mint dressing) – this book sounds great!
Copying a favorite Mexican restaurant’s “ensalata primavera:” a fresh mix of baby greens, cilantro, jicama and orange slices with a lime vinaigrette.
Thinly sliced Granny Smith apple, sorrel chiffonade, white wine vinegar, oil, salt and pepper
Lettuce from the garden–who knew lettuce would grow so well in Las Vegas? Cherry tomatoes, also from the garden and green onions. Dressed simply with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Topped with a few grinds of pepper and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes. Simple and fresh as possible.
Diced garden tomatoes, thin ribbons of fresh basil, and blanched and chilled sweet corn cut from the cob. Don’t forget a little kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. A quick homemade tarragon vinaigrette (egg yolk included). I think of it as tossing the Mediterranean with our Ohio summer—quite addictive.
Traditionalist here. My favorite is a Salade Lyonnaise with the soft boiled egg, not the poached some folks like. The soft boiled just melts beautifully into the mass of the salad. Mmmmmm!
I missed the window for planting greens this spring, but have a bumper crop of gorgeous basil and parsley, so my “salad” is pesto on a warm tortilla. I’m with Gina. Love purslane and lambs quarters braised for a wilted salad. Goat cheese & a splash of vinegar or a sprinkle of sage/lavender salt.
I love any sort of goat cheese in my salad, any time of year. Thanks for your inspiring blog!
My current salad favorite is romaine, gorgonzola, dried cranberries, caramelized onions, and spiced pecans, tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. But I am always in search of new tasty combinations!
Romaine, mushroom, peeled tomato, vinegar & oil, sprinkled with parmesan. Simple and good
a salad isn’t a salad in our house in the summer without fresh home grown tomatoes.
My favourite salad is a simple coleslaw, just shredded cabbage and carrot, dressed with the Caesar sauce from the Improvisational Cook but ramped up with 2-4 times the garlic, a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, and as much grated parmessan cheese as you can afford.
fresh, homegrown tomatoes & basil, fresh mozerella, good olive oil & balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and fresh ground pepper
I’m with Clare. My garden is abundant with tomatoes and basil right now. I’ve named my favorite salad Amanda’s Tomato Party, with different versions. Version 2.0 included summer sausage, which is another favorite to add to salad.
I have two ultra faves: 1) spent a summer on assignment in San Francisco and spent the evenings going from one Italian restaurant to the other tasting their individual takes on fresh, heritage tomatoe/buffalo mozzarella/basil salads – still love them and 2) any rendition on the classic nicoise salad – lettuce, fresh green beans, a liitle egg, a little potatoe, some anchovies, tomatoes, onion, nicoise or other tasty little black olives –
OK Now I am hungry!!! Thank you for all you do…
I’m all about the baby greens with fresh peas, corn, carrots, celery, artichoke hearts, and gorgonzola…
whatever is green and growing in the garden (oak leaf,mache, deer’s tongue, wild arugula, garlic chives, tarragon, dill, cilantro, with salt, EVOO and something tangy, I would love a copy of “Beyond the Bowl”
Jicama, mango, mint. Lightly tossed with jalapeno and lime juice. Addictive!
I make a carrot cumin salad with raisins that has become a staple of pot lucks with all my friends. It’s a bit tart, sweet, chewy and beautiful.
Open the fridge with my “don’t know” mind and see peanut butter. This will go in the dressing. Open the drawer and see jicama and sweet potato, the former will be julienned, the latter grated. The greens are on the shelf above. In the garden are sweet banana peppers,sweet red peppers, basil, lemon balm, cherry tomatoes and a little medium-hot pepper. I can’t remember the name, but it looks like a tiny pumpkin when ripe. This will also go in the dressing along with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, a little sesame oil and a bit more canola oil. And, of course, the peanut butter which inspired when I opened the door. Fresh cilantro in the dressing and on the salad. Edamame sprinkled on top for a little more fresh crunch.
Bag of Arugula
One Grapefruit, or equivalent amount of Mango, Melon, or Feijoa
One sliced Avocado
Handful of chopped Basil
1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese (lighter than Parmesan or Feta)
Olive oil generously drizzled
1 juicy lime squeezed over all
Topping of Pepitas or slivered toasted Almonds
Thank you so much for the chance to win your book. Would love to have a new cook book for summer ! Always looking for new and exciting recipes!
Because it’s summer and because it’s Arkansas, it has to be watermelon! Toss watermelon cubes with thin red onion slices, crumbled feta, and fresh mint or basil. Drizzle with lime vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar. Serve on a bed of arugula (or not). Can’t be beat in the Arkansas heat!
My go-to favorite is simple, and I almost never tire of it: arugula, good EVOO, a little fresh squeezed lemon with some shaved pecorino or parmesan, salt and pepper. Truffle salt makes an interesting and tasty twist, if you like.
Currently I’m loving zucchini “noodles” with a pesto of walnuts, garlic, oregano, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. All chilled and raw.
Walk through the garden with the salad bowl and collect:
baby greens, a tiny zucchini, a red bell pepper, a few raspberries and blueberries for a surpise zing. Crumble some lovely homemade goat cheese from our Nubians and lightly drizzle with a raspberry vinaigrette.
My favorite summer salad is an old Fine Cooking recipe. You coat chicken tenders in chopped almonds, then saute them and serve with chopped nectarines, lettuce and a dressing made of buttermilk, sour cream, chives, lemon juice and olive oil. It is wonderful freshly made, and the chicken holds up to the next day. These days, the most wonderful thing about it is that my two toddlers love it; a nice break from PB&J.
Where I live, in Walla Walla, WA, the sweet onions are in their full glory… and our spring was so cool and rainy this year that the onions are even sweeter and milder than usual. Sliced thin, and added to fresh farmers market greens of all kinds, with walnuts and sheep’s milk feta, and a light vinaigrette…. what could be better?
Salad:
shredded kale, candied pecans, julienne apples, pecornino cheese, bacon
seasonings (dry)
capers
chives, tarragon, radicchio
salt
pepper
seasonings (wet)
olive oil/bacon fat
maple syrup
caper brine
Love seeing what others are tossing … my current fave is mixed greens ( farmer’s market iceberg with rocket arugula) with some dried cranberries, roasted beets, scallions and red onions topped with a 3.5 minute poached egg and some shaved pecorino or asiago or whatever cheese we have. For dressing I use a mustard vinaigrette (made with white condiment from Acetaia La Villa) with a squirt of lime juice and a bit of lime zest. I serve with ciabatta slices toasted with garlic, butter, olive oil and herbes de provence.
Simple
Grapefruit avacado a little red onion and a touch of olive oil salt to taste.
raw corn, thinly sliced radishes, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, some cubed fresh mozzarella (optional), LOTS of basil, salt, pepper, chile powder, lime juice, good olive oil
My favorite salad is a comfort food, not because it’s heavy but because of family memories. Cut sections of orange and grapefruit right over the bowl to collect all the juice, and add a crisp lettuce like romaine and escarole, onions thinly sliced, perhaps some other things, and crumbled blue cheese. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil and herbs.
dijon mustard with mustard seeds is always required
my favorite salad to make is composed of mixed greens, thinly shaved bermuda onion, avocado, some kind of toasted or spiced nut, dried cranberries or bits of apple or pear, and some gorgonzola, dressed with a vinaigrette of olive and peanut oils combined, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
What beautiful looking salads. Have recently discovered how great avocados are in my salads.
My mouth is watering as I read about everyone’s ingredients this close to lunchtime. Right now I am liking the crunch of fresh radishes and have decided to grow them since they are so quick. Especially in a chopped salad.
cant wait to join this beautiful group…okay …salad has always been a passion…these days i live in florida…so let me create a fun salad….sliced strawberries, arugula, chuncks of canteloupe, or perhaps honeydew…red grapes and what what what///of course pecans, chopped. i am lactose intolerant but if i wasnt a nice chunck of goat cheese would be swell…now the dressing…kudo to cat cora, she put shallots in hers, it was in a magazine, but i use a bit of sugar, lime juice, and evoo, salt and pepper…and just for the fun on top, because lately i love them with everything, some dried cranberries…happy summer thanksgiving, and of course some chopped turkey would really be fun too. but then no cheese if you like separating meat and milk. suzy