Salad

If it's melon season, you have to make this. In Burma (Myanmar), gin thoke, meaning "ginger mix," is a blend of crispy fried garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger, and is eaten as a sweet digestive snack after meals. Although not native to the region, melons are a refreshing and delicious complement to this dressing, together making a perfect summertime side dish. The ginger is key to this salad. Ideally, the gingerroot should be so young that the skin is almost transparent and the roots are tipped with pink.

A wonderful make-ahead summer meal, this dinner is just as delicious served chilled as it is served warm.

Coby Ming, Harvest, Louisville, KY: "When I make vinaigrette, I always reach for Dijon. It's got the perfect balance of zip and bite and helps emulsify the dressing.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Italian classics, check out the videos.

This oily fish gets a summery makeover in this tomato-heavy salad.

For this pretty side or meatless main salad, use medium and small squash for the best flavor. Quinoa and walnuts (or a grain and nut of your choosing) add heft.

Fruit, cheese, and nuts are a winning combination. This bright vinaigrette is also excellent on a salad with apricots, goat cheese, and pistachios.

Truly ripe tomatoes don't need much more than olive oil, salt, and herbs.

This salad of melon, sweet pepper, salty cheese and earthy basil recalls the watermelon salad that we all love so much, but its elegant components make it more refined. Salt is key to marrying the flavors, so be generous, tasting as you go. Be liberal, too, with a very good extra-virgin olive oil—it is very much a part of this salad.

Our dear friends, the Krutchiks, often lavish us with new food discoveries, like Wagyu pastrami—a luxe version of the delicious brined, spiced and smoked deli meat—which they buy at their NYC neighborhood shop, Grace's Marketplace. The richly marbled, melt-in-your-mouth meat inspired this twist on Italy's beloved bread and tomato salad. Use ripe, in-season tomatoes (their sweet juices form part of the dressing), and pick an airy light rye bread over the dark, dense sort; the latter is too chewy for this salad. Wagyu is certainly tasty, but any good pastrami works well here.

Though inspired by golden cherries from the farmers' market, this pretty salad can be made with any sort of fresh or frozen cherry. Marcona almonds hail from Spain; their toasty, slightly sweet and salty flavor is a great match for the fruit. Toasted whole almonds and a few extra pinches of sea salt can be substituted.

Trust us: No one will complain if you double the shrimp and omit the lobster in this tart and beachy seafood salad. Just be sure to sear the shrimp quickly on a hot grill: The char plays nicely with lime juice.

Hot ribs, meet cool slaw. Yogurt magically lightens the dressing.

No room on the grill? Cut the kernels from the cobs and char with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on the stove.

A great summer salad requires three things: fresh greens, a tart, seasonal dressing (made here with grated tomato), and a light hand to toss the ingredients together so the lettuces stay perky.

As much as I like tabbouleh, to me fattoush has more zing—plus it's less time-consuming to make and more adaptable. Here's one version of fattoush you'll encounter all over Lebanon, but in any home or restaurant you'll notice slight variations, depending on the season or the cook's palate. You can either deep-fry or toast the pita croutons that give the salad its special character; the fried bread will taste better, but toasted is, obviously, healthier. When tomatoes are out of season, I like to substitute cherry or grape tomatoes since they're likely to be juicier and more flavorful. If you can find purslane, use it (a cup or two, chopped); it adds authenticity and a nice peppery bite.

All of these dishes would benefit from a scoop of rice on the side, but Pelaccio's twist on northeastern Malaysia's rice salad is meant to be served over the grains. (He prefers jasmine.) The smoky grilled vegetables are enlivened by a generous final flourish of fresh herbs.

Quickly grilling kale makes it crispy. Pairing it with fresh plums and ricotta transforms it into our new favorite salad.

Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff shared this recipe for one of her favorite salads—it's an updated take on a salad her Mom made when she was growing up in San Diego. We've included quantities for all the ingredients, but Minkoff encourages you to make this dish your own and to taste as you go. For more on Minkoff and to take a video tour of her New York City kitchen, see In the Kitchen with Rebecca Minkoff.