Salad

THIS LIGHT SALAD WILL BECOME A GO-TO RECIPE in your kitchen. Taking only minutes to prepare, it can be served as a first course or as a main course for a summer lunch. Or spoon the salad on slices of fresh bread for a seafood sandwich. We prefer Dungeness crab, but King or blue crab can be substituted. Or skip the crab and use prawns, bay shrimp, or lobster instead. Add just a sprinkling of celery seed; its flavor is very strong, and you will need only a very small amount.

TRADITIONAL ICEBERG WEDGE SALADS arrive smothered in heavy blue cheese dressing. Our version has a lighter dressing, thanks to rice vinegar and lemon, but still maintains that tangy blue cheese flavor.

SALADS NEED NOT FOCUS ON THE LETTUCE. Here the greens take a back seat to vibrant golden beets. The salty, creamy blue cheese and the crunchy walnuts complement the sweet beets. Roasting the beets in water prevents them from drying out.

THIS SALAD SHOWS OFF PERFECTLY RIPE TOMATOES and creamy cheese curds. Cheese curds are a type of fresh cheese that remains when the whey is drained. The curds are compressed, cut into loaves, and then milled into larger curds. The reduced tomato liquid adds to the salad’s savory flavor without creating excess liquid in the bowl, preventing the salad from getting soggy. Skip this recipe if tomatoes aren’t in season; only the ripest summer tomatoes will do.

This is a great all-purpose vinaigrette that can dress a salad as easily as it can be poured on grilled vegetables or served as a dipping sauce for bread.

JÍCAMA IS A ROOT VEGETABLE that is used throughout Latin America. It looks like a large radish and has a clean, neutral flavor that adds a crisp texture to any dish. This refreshing salad, with its Asian vinaigrette, will be a welcome addition to a summer picnic or barbecue. I leave out the salt and pepper because the soy sauce provides the seasoning.

THE TENDER FLAVOR OF BUTTER LETTUCE, often called Boston or bibb lettuce, is celebrated in this simple salad. We find locally grown butter lettuce from May through October, but it’s also available year-round from slightly farther afield. Herbs, oranges, and olives complete this light and luscious salad.

FLAVOR BOOSTERS Mexican-inspired flavors make these hardy sides hard to resist. Black beans are enlivened by chili powder and lime; peppery watercress is topped with crunchy toasted pepitas and a cuminscented dressing.

SECRET INGREDIENT Loaded with fiber, barley provides a filling, low-calorie base for this whole-grain salad, so all you need to add is a single chicken breast—and plenty of vegetables—to turn it into a satisfying meal for four.

SMART SUBSTITUTION Instead of toting a pasta salad along to the next potluck, try a salad that features a whole grain such as bulgur (precooked wheat that’s been dried and cracked). Most grains work well when tossed and seasoned with the same ingredients used in pasta salads, and they are definitely better for you.

WHY IT’S LIGHT How do you trim the fat and calories from a beloved salad? Scale back on the bacon, use only the whites of hard-cooked eggs, and make the dressing with low-fat buttermilk and light mayonnaise. Then, fold a modest amount of blue cheese into the dressing, instead of crumbling it over the salad.

FLAVOR BOOSTERS The bracing combination of fresh lime juice and mint adds minimal calories and not a trace of fat, yet tastes out of this world. Scallions, cucumber, and chopped peanuts up the flavor ante while also adding crunch. Soba noodles, made from buckwheat, are nuttier than those made from wheat.

GOOD TO KNOW Here a low-fat, yogurt-based chicken salad is served over lightly dressed mixed greens; it would also make a light—and packable—lunch when used as a sandwich filling, between slices of whole-wheat bread.

GOOD TO KNOW Because they contain more fat than leaner breast meat, chicken thighs are good candidates for grilling: They stay tender and juicy after cooking.

FLAVOR BOOSTER A fragrant sauce made from a handful of pantry standbys—including soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and red-pepper flakes—serves as a marinade for the chicken and a dressing for the finished salad. Feel free to substitute pork or beef for the chicken.

FLAVOR BOOSTER Toasted sesame oil, used in many Asian dishes, has a robust and nutty taste. Combined with rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, and red-pepper flakes, it multitasks in this recipe as both marinade and salad dressing.