A Trilogy of Summer Salads

An ingredients-first approach to savoring the season.

We all, in summer, share a reluctance to turn our stoves on. I don’t have AC in my apartment, I haven’t in my last two apartments and I don’t think I ever will. I mostly rely on the subtle gust from a standing fan, wide open windows, and a rotating assortment of ice cold beverages to provide me with some respite from the heat. It’s a tale as old as time. But what we talk about less is that, in summer, when produce is bountiful and farmers markets reopen and when something as simple as a tomato is the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten, there is no need to turn on your stove. Ingredients are fresh and flavorful and can speak entirely for themselves. So I think it’s time we let them.

Salads, generally, don’t require recipes. There is no golden ratio of lettuce to dressing, and whomever tells you otherwise has never had the simple pleasure of little gems doused in fresh lemon and good olive oil. In fact, I think it could be said that the better your ingredients, the harder it is to fuck up a salad. Like sweet corn will always be a welcomed addition and anything tastes good under an ungodly amount of shaved parmesan.

I had someone tell me the other day that she used my suggestions for a shaved zucchini salad, replacing the asparagus with fennel and omitting the mint. It sounded heavenly and I will be trying it this week. Because it also could be said that the best salads are the result of a series of concerted substitutions. Don’t have olives? Add hearts of palm. Almost any kind of nut will sufficiently take the place of another kind of nut. And almost any kind of lettuce (except for something like an iceberg which you will never find in my kitchen) can be used in lieu of another kind of lettuce. Dressings are perhaps a little more finicky, but you’ll find I often just use some combination of lemon and olive oil. The most important thing then to remember is salt can always be added but never taken away. And in the case of something like an arugula, act sparingly with the pepper.

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Any salads, suggestions, or substitutions of your own, drop them in the chat.

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Every time I make the following salads, they turn out somewhat differently but they are always, always, delicious. There is some obvious overlap in the ingredients I use which is mostly because I always have on hand the following:

• Lemons

• Parsley

• Dill

• Tomatoes

• Cucumbers

• Feta Cheese

• Some type of nut but usually pistachios and pine nuts

Fresh herbs always save a salad. My top two are those aforementioned but mint and basil closely follow, although I find their use cases to be a bit more specific. Of course there is the issue of buying a handful of herbs and not knowing what to do with the leftovers, so I would recommend reading

Sam Brainard

’s guide to storing them. Alternatively, any combination of herbs thrown into a blender with some kind of nut, garlic, lemon and olive oil, makes a lovely pesto which stores nicely in the fridge. I guess what I’m saying, is, you have options. Tons of them. For making salads, for using ingredients, for savoring ingredients, for savoring the season. What follows is simply my own attempt to do so.

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Bitter Greens with Pistachio Parsley Chimichurri

Serves 2

For the Dressing¹, mix together:

• Pistachios, roughly chopped, about 1/4 cup

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 heaping handful of flat leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup

• 1 heaping handful of fresh dill, about 1/3 cup

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Olive oil, about 1/4 cup + more for drizzling

For the Salad, layer:

• 2 heads endive (can also use radicchio or little gem but something crunchy and a little bitter is best)

• 1/2 bulb fennel, thinly sliced²

• Feta, fresh or crumbled

• Dressing, as prepared above

• S&P to taste

• Extra drizzle of olive oil

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Shaved Zucchini Salad

Serves 2

• 1 zucchini, shaved into long ribbons using a vegetable peeler

• 4 stalks of asparagus, trimmed and then sliced into thin rounds (or replace with thinly sliced fennel)

• 4 medjool dates, pitted and quartered

• About 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

• Fresh parm, shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

• Mint, about 6 large leaves, chiffonade³

• Olive oil, about 4 tbsp

• Juice from half a lemon

• S&P to taste

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My Ideal Greek Salad

Serves 2

• Make quick pickled red onions

  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced and placed in a medium sized bowl or mason jar

  • In a medium saucepan, combine:

    • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

    • 1 cup water

    • 1 tbsp honey

    • 1/2 tsp salt

  • Heat over medium-low until the honey dissolves and everything is combined. Pour over your onions and allow to sit while you prepare your other ingredients. Top your salad with them, to your liking, then cover and store the rest in the fridge.

• 1 heirloom tomato, cut into half inch cubes (or about 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 large cucumber, cut into half inch cubes

• Feta, crumbled

• Castelvetrano olives, pitted

• Mint, sliced into thin ribbons

• Juice from 1 lemon

• Olive oil, about 5 tbsp

• S&P to taste

1. Dressing can also be used as a marinade for steak or chicken. If this is the case, pistachios are optional.

2. If you’re feeling fancy, pickled fennel would also be very good here

3. To chiffonade mint (aka, cut into thin ribbons): layer your leaves on top of one another, with the largest in the back. Roll tightly like you’re rolling a burrito or a cigarette. Slice thinly.