Greens, Avocado, and Blueberry Salad
At her summer home on Martha's Vineyard, food scholar and cookbook author Jessica B. Harris keeps specialty salts and vinegars on hand to bring instant interest to salad dressings. Here, a honey-ginger white balsamic is the backbone of a sweet and fragrant sesame-honey-ginger dressing that adds a mildly piquant kick to the fresh peppery greens and creamy avocado in this colorful side salad. The blueberry-honey sea salt made on Martha's Vineyard is absolutely worth sourcing for both its pleasantly fruity and tart flavor and its stunning purple hue. While these specialty ingredients add an elegant touch, the Food & Wine test kitchen also came up with a few simple substitutions to make this recipe without them (see Note).
Spring Gem Salad with Soft Herbs and Labneh Toasts
Nancy Silverton says the first sign of spring is when she puts this salad on the menu at Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles. She dresses the asparagus, peas, radishes, and sugar snap peas with a lemon vinaigrette, then offers toasts topped with labneh alongside, turning this ode to spring produce into a light lunch or first course for dinner. The herbs are an important part of the mix; if you can't find chervil, substitute equal parts Italian parsley and tarragon.
Citrus, Beet, and Arugula Salad with Halloumi Croutons
Resplendent with mixed citrus and jewel-toned roasted beets, this peppery arugula salad gets elevated to holiday status courtesy of crispy halloumi croutons.
Fennel and Apple Salad with Hazelnuts
Tucked in among the tender lettuce leaves, fragrant fennel, sweet-tart Granny Smith apple, and toasty hazelnuts add a refreshing crunch to this fall salad.
Mission Fig, Elderberry, and Mixed Greens Salad
"Winemaker Tara Gomez belongs to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. This salad of seasonal fruits, herbs, and flowers balanced with bold leafy greens and a simple, bright lemon dressing, from a feast at Camins 2 Dreams, the winery she runs with her wife Mireia Taribó, includes traditional Chumash ingredients. Both the dressing and the salad call for aromatic hummingbird sage. More fragrant and less bitter than other types of sage, hummingbird sage is native to the cool coastal parts of Santa Barbara County. Though not quite the same, common sage will work well. Elderberries, considered a medicinal plant, grow wild in the region. Used whole, they're lightly fragrant and offer a hint of sweetness.
Oma’s Green Mountain Salad
In this seasonal salad, Chicago chef Sarah Grueneberg takes inspiration from the translation of her last name and the translation of her restaurant name (both mean “green mountain,” in German and Italian, respectively). She amps up a zesty buttermilk dressing with charred ramps (scallions would also be delicious) then drizzles the dressing over crisp Little Gem lettuce, celery, and baby turnips. Slideshow: More Salad Recipes
