Salads

Four-Bean Salad with Green Romesco

Come summertime, you’ve got a lot of options: skinny haricots verts, fat Romano beans, or classic, stemmy green beans—and all work here.

Smashed Cucumbers with Sizzled Turmeric and Garlic

It’s hard to say how this salad-y number is best served—because the answer is “with everything and all the time.”

Celery and Fennel with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Unfortunately for celery, the nicest thing most people can say about it is that they like to eat it with their buffalo wings; but the merits of this very good and underrated vegetable are plenty, and well . . . I LOVE CELERY.

Escarole with Mustard and Spicy Guanciale Bread Crumbs

The nutty, umami-y nutritional yeast acts as a lighter, brighter parmesan.

Raw and Roasted Kale with Pistachios and Creamy Pecorino

Pasta with kale, kale salad with cucumbers. I literally cannot get enough.

Vinegared Romaine with Sour Cream, Bacon, and Herbs

Because it’s a nod to the classic wedge salad, you could, of course, use iceberg (which I happen to love), but the romaine has a much better, greener flavor.

Chicories with Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Egg Yolk

Without any whisking, freshly cracked and freed from the shell, separated from the watery white, rich, fatty egg yolks all by themselves are one hell of a secret ingredient.

An Excellent Mustard Dressing

I intend for you to use this all-purpose, excellent mustard dressing for things beyond a bowl of gorgeous greens. Perhaps you’ll use it to coat black lentils served alongside a coil of browned sausage to pretend you’re in France.

Kale Salad with Honey’d Walnuts

Kale salad, how 2013, I know. But it’s undeniably a great candidate for a meal like this. It’s sturdy, almost masquerading as a side instead of a salad, it’s one of the only salad greens that get better with age and can even be saved as a leftover with little to no consequences.

Citrus Salad with Bitter Greens

The perfect way to use winter citrus. Arrange bitter leaves on a plate, layer with sliced citrus and onion and season casually with flaky salt, vinegar and oil.

Any-Greens Mustard Dressing

This one is pretty basic, but very good, with lots of whole grain mustard– the spicier the better for me– but Dijon works, too (just expect a creamier texture). As for the greens, peppery arugula, crisp romaine, and ruffly kale are all great contenders, but my hands-down favorite is escarole.

Very Crunchy Salad feat. Fennel, Apples, and Pecans

A salad is a non-negotiable for me, especially with all the rich, buttery dishes on the table. This bitter, crunchy, bright one with honeyed pecans and fennel seed will get eaten suspiciously fast for a salad at Thanksgiving.