Salads

Salads have a reputation problem — too many people still think of them as rabbit food, a sad pile of iceberg lettuce with a watery tomato on top. The salads here are actual meals. Thai beef salad with lime and chili. Roquefort with walnuts and fresh figs. Caesar done properly, with homemade croutons and a dressing that has some backbone. I treat salads as a showcase for whatever's in season: summer means tomatoes and stone fruit, winter means roasted beets and citrus. The dressing is where most salads are won or lost. A simple vinaigrette — good olive oil, sharp vinegar, a pinch of mustard, salt — fixes almost any combination of greens and vegetables. I've included both light salads for hot days and substantial ones that work as dinner. The key to a great salad is texture contrast: something crunchy, something creamy, something sharp. Get those three and you can improvise endlessly.