Salads
12 recipes
Tabbouleh
A Lebanese parsley salad, not a grain salad: chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint far outweigh the fine bulgur, with tomato, lemon, and olive oil in support.
Sunomono Cucumber Salad
Paper-thin cucumber salted and wrung dry, then dressed in sweetened rice vinegar. The squeeze is what makes it: the slices stay crisp instead of turning watery in the bowl.
Peruvian Ceviche
Cubes of firm white fish tossed with fresh lime juice, red onion, chile, and cilantro, served with boiled sweet potato and corn. The lime does its work in minutes, not hours.
Panzanella
Day-old country bread torn into ripe tomatoes and their salted juices, with red onion softened in vinegar and torn basil. The bread should end up soft in places and chewy in others.
Orange and Olive Salad
A Moroccan first-course salad of cold orange rounds with salty oil-cured olives and sharp raw onion, dressed with cumin and cinnamon. It comes together in one bowl and no heat.
Kale Caesar with Crispy Chickpeas
Chickpeas roasted until they rattle stand in for croutons on kale massaged in a lemony Parmesan dressing. The chickpeas hold their crunch for a day, so it packs well.
Jicama and Citrus Salad
Cold jicama batons and orange rounds under lime juice, ground chile, and salt. The jicama stays snappy and faintly sweet, which is the whole point of serving it raw.
Horiatiki Greek Village Salad
Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, and onion under a slab of feta, dressed with nothing but olive oil and dried oregano. It stands or falls on the tomatoes.
Goi Tom Vietnamese Shrimp Salad
Shredded cabbage salted and squeezed dry, tossed with cooked shrimp in a lime and fish sauce dressing. Mint, peanuts, and fried shallots go on at the last second so they stay crisp.
Fattoush
A Levantine chopped salad of romaine, tomato, cucumber, and radish in a lemon and sumac dressing, tossed with toasted flatbread that softens at the edges as it sits.
Crumbled Tofu Larb
Crumbled firm tofu browned hard in a skillet, then tossed off the heat with lime, chile, toasted rice powder, and a fistful of mint. Sour and hot rather than rich.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Black-eyed peas tossed with diced bell pepper and celery in a sharp sweet-sour vinegar dressing. It improves in the refrigerator, so it is worth making the day before.