Our salad primer has five unexpected combinations of greens and 10 fantastic dressing (right), great for improvising. Remember to start out with really fresh greens. If the leaves have gone a little limp on the way home from the market, perk them up with a brief soak in a bowl of very cold water.

Salads

Leafy Greens

Dressing + Boston and Bibb lettuce, romaine, oak leaf lettuce, baby spinach, mesclun mix

Bitter/tangy greens

Dressing + red and yellow endives, radicchio, watercress, arugula, tatsoi and mizuna

Chopped salad

Dressing + cucumber, radishes, celery, fennel, avocado, jicama, carrots, bell peppers, edamame, chick peas, red onions, parsley

Tomato salad

Dressing + sliced mixed heirloom tomatoes with halved cherry and grape tomatoes and very thinly sliced red onion

Chicken salad

Dressing + sliced chicken, tomatoes, avocado, almonds or walnuts and mixed greens

More Sensational Salads:

Healthy, Superfresh Green Salad Recipes

Super Salad Specialists