Romaine

I love dishes with catchy retro names. The Green Goddess salad was invented in the 1920s by the chef of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, who made it in honor of British actor George Arliss. The actor was a guest at the hotel while starring in a local production of William Archer’s The Green Goddess. The basic components of this classic California dressing are anchovies, mayonnaise, garlic, tarragon, parsley, and chives. I add watercress to the puréed herbs, which turns the dressing a deep emerald green and adds a clean, peppery flavor. Thick and rich, the dressing coats the romaine leaves the same way a Caesar salad dressing does. Once you have this dressing in your repertoire, you’ll find yourself using it for all sorts of things. Try a dollop over grilled fish, or spread it on bread instead of mayonnaise when making a sandwich.

I crave Greek salad year round, so in the winter, when tomatoes don’t taste great raw, I make it with roasted beets instead. This began as a home lunch, but I decided to try it out at some of my restaurants, too, and it’s turned out to be one of our most popular salads.

This is a great, lighter alternative to a Caesar salad—it hits all the same taste notes without the heavy creamy dressing. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies in the Salsa Verde. The strong flavor melts away and you’re left with a subtle complexity. If you don’t say anything, no one will ever know that they’re in there. Celery is another of those often-underappreciated vegetables that is worth highlighting, and this salad does just that.

Browning the almonds in sugar gives a great sweet crunch to this salad. I have to state for the record that this is one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted.

Every Super Bowl spread needs a refreshing salad to counterbalance the array of must-have dips, cheesy snacks, and meaty mains. Because the elements of this are all chopped, it's a salad that's easy to toss, easy to serve, and best of all, easy to eat.

If you have ever made hummus, you probably still have a partial jar of tahini in your refrigerator. Here’s one way to use more of it: in a creamy dressing for a grilled chicken salad. Brian seasons the chicken with za’atar, a Middle Eastern seasoning, and balances the tahini’s faint bitterness with the sweetness of pine nuts to make the dish more wine friendly. You could substitute a meaty fish, such as mahimahi or tuna, for the chicken. That jar of tahini will be empty in no time. Note that the chicken needs to marinate for at least two hours.

Use the extra loin from the Pork Loin with Figs and Port Sauce (page 217) in the recipes below (you’ll have enough meat to make both).

This Southwestern-style salad makes excellent use of shortcut staples such as canned beans, frozen corn, and prepared salsa. Fresh varieties of each can be used instead. Serve additional chips, cheese, and salsa on the side.

A favorite sandwich is updated as a main-course salad, with a tangy buttermilk dressing standing in for the mayonnaise spread.

COBB SALAD IS A LUNCHTIME STAPLE, and when a few new ingredients such as crab, crispy prosciutto, and lime-jalapeño dressing are thrown in the mix, the classic just gets better. The Curried Crab Lumps can be made one day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

WHETHER YOU FRY THEM, SAUTÉ THEM, OR EAT THEM RAW, fresh oysters are simply sublime. Our local favorites are the tiny Olympia oyster (the only oyster native to the Pacific Northwest), plump Pacific oysters, European Flat oysters, and petite Kumamotos. The large Pacific oysters are the best for frying. Coated in cornmeal, they make a savory sandwich, but fried oysters also make an impressive appetizer. One tip: Use two hands while battering the oysters—one hand to dip in the flour and one to dunk in the egg and cornmeal—so you don’t end up with two messy hands.

GOOD TO KNOW Rotisserie chicken is a good shortcut (use only the breast meat) if you don’t have time to poach your own. Corn tortillas—crisped in the oven instead of fried—rovide a crunchy base for a filling salad packed with Mexican flavors. We’ve started with tomato, avocado, red onion, and cilantro, but you can add other favorite ingredients such as sliced radishes or corn—and perhaps a little reduced-fat sour cream in place of Mexican crema.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Using light mayonnaise (and a bit of water) in the dressing considerably reduces the calories and fat. Lime juice and chili powder contribute unexpected flavor notes while still keeping the whole thing light.

This is a tangy, creamy, and herbaceous version of a classic dressing that is well paired with crisp and sturdy romaine lettuce. Use whole uncut leaves; if the heads are large, you may need to remove many of the outer leaves to get to the pale green sweet leaves at the heart. Little Gem and Winter Density are small tender varieties that are perfect for this dressing and for Caesar salad.

This salad is best made with whole uncut leaves of romaine. You may need to remove quite a few of the large outer leaves to expose the smaller pale green sweet leaves at the heart. There are tender small varieties called Little Gem and Winter Density that make incredible salads. Look for them at your farmers’ market.

This is a salad for a small crowd, though it can be made as big or as little as you like. But please, see this ingredients list as a series of suggestions rather than dogma—a chopped salad can contain any combination that appeals to you, including raw vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower or crunchy cabbages like bok choy, as well as nuts, seeds, and fruit.