Chicory

Bison meat is very lean and is best served rare or medium-rare.

Despite her pride in her cultural heritage, Miraglia Eriquez says: "I gotta be honest, some Italians are known for cooking vegetables to death, and I like to keep my greens green." So she boils chicory for only a few minutes to tame its bitterness, then sautés it briefly, keeping the leaves fresh and slightly crisp. This simple, light side dish is great with the hearty ragù -coated pasta.

Polenta makes a supercrisp coating for panfried chicken breasts. Here, it's crowned with wilted escarole and dressed with a bright and briny sauce.

Patience is the key to this soul-satisfying soup chock-full of winter greens. Its depth of flavor comes from cooking the soffritto—a mixture of pancetta, onion, celery, carrots, and the ribs from the chard—for a good 45 minutes and from browning the tomato paste. The result is so savory that there's no need for broth; water, canned tomatoes, and a parmesan rind work beautifully. And because this soup must cook slowly, don't worry about prepping all your vegetables before you begin—you can simply chop as you go.

Sweet nibbles of butternut squash temper the bitter edge of radicchio in every bite of this healthful, satisfying pasta.

This refreshing salad serves as a palate cleanser before dessert. Oltranti updates a traditional Italian-style salad dressing with the modern flavors of California cuisine: Floral Meyer lemon amplifies the acidity of red-wine vinegar in a bright shallot vinaigrette.

(Salade Tiede aux Oeufs en Meurette) Two grand bistro classics meet here: the frisée aux lardons salad with a poached egg, and oeufs en meurette (poached eggs in a red-wine sauce). Frisée, with its slightly bitter flavor and sturdy but delicate texture, stands up beautifully to the rich, concentrated sauce and the warm poached egg.

It's the classic brunch dish—in salad form. Frisée, edamame, radishes, and red onions are sprinkled with prosciutto, then topped with a poached egg and hollandaise.

Apples make this salad appealing even to young children.

A salad of oranges and slightly bitter endive and escarole rounds out the buffet of fried latkes and rich toppings.

These come out extra-crispy when you use a pizza stone. If you don’t have one, a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet works well; invert it so that you can remove the pizza easily.

Frisée often pops up in salads, but like its cousin escarole, it’s also great for cooking.

Juicy Asian pear and a balsamic reduction play against the bitter edge of frisée—further mellowed by leeks hot from the pan.

This rich side dish gets unexpected encouragement from orange, cream, and Chinese five-spice powder.

After a rich main course, you'll love the clean flavors of this minimally dressed salad. Watercress and fris´e are tamed by slivers of celery root and green apple, which also makes for a seamless segue into the next course—Camembert with apple butter from a local market.

This dip is similar to the original green goddess dressing, which was created in the 1920s at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel. Here, sour cream stands in for mayo.

Neal Fraser, Executive Chef and co-owner of Grace and BLD in Los Angeles, shared this recipe with Epicurious. The dish is perfect for entertaining, since the endive and celery root flans can be made ahead and reheated. The garlic nage should be made shortly before serving and kept warm while you quickly sear the turbot. A shaving of earthy black truffles finishes the dish. "Grating them on top makes them soft and allows their perfume to stand out," says Fraser.

To make this fresh salad, you'll need the following on hand: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, walnuts, a Gala apple, tart cherries, minced shallots, honey, and frisée.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Chris Miller, executive chef at Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri in Bali. This zesty dish proves that grilling isn't just for carnivores. Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake with a nutty flavor and firm, almost meatlike texture, can be found in many grocery stores, health food stores, and Asian markets. We like Lightlife brand. Note that orange oil can be quite strong, so be sure not to use more than the amount called for in the recipe.

Nuggets of sausage give a little meatball action to this hearty, no-fuss soup chock-full of healthy escarole and lentils.