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Approximate quantities: 1 head of butter lettuce, roughly chopped; 1/2 pint or about 16 sungold cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 carrots, sliced into thin disks; 6 radishes, sliced into thin disks; 2 Kirby cucumbers, sliced into thin disks; 8–10 artichokes hearts, halved or quartered; 15 or so ribbons of Parmesan cheese drizzled with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper
Serves 4 as a side.
I don’t know that I have ever actually faithfully followed this recipe. I make this salad a slightly different way every single time — in the fall and winter I use roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes, I’ve added artichokes, experimented with other Italian cheeses, omitted onions, made the vinaigrette, not made the vinaigrette, added cucumbers, carrots, and other things I’ve had on hand, and used dramatically less than 1/2 of pound of cheese and salami. Oh and I always crisp the chickpeas. None of this matters; it’s amazing every time. This salad as is or as a jumping off point is, obviously, a genius recipe.
Approximate quantities: 1 head of butter lettuce, roughly chopped; 1 large carrot, sliced into thin disks; 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped; 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced; 1 small red onion or spring onion; thinly sliced; 2 Kirby cucumbers, sliced into thin disks; 8 pepperocini, roughly chopped; equal amounts aged provolone and sopressata, julienned; and 1 16-ounce can of chickpeas, crisped in a skillet or on a sheet pan drizzled in olive oil, red or white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and dried oregano
Serves two as a main.
Approximate quantites: 1 head of Green leaf lettuce, roughly chopped; 6–8 ounces, sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut lengthwise; 1/2 pint of heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered; 4 small Kirby cucumbers, cut lengthwise cut lengthwise into thin spears, then into 1-inch segments; grilled green and wax beans; grilled red onions, roughly chopped; about 1/4 of a loaf of slightly stale fig-fennel bread, cubed, tossed with olive oil and salt, and crisped in a sauté pan, or grilled
Serves two as a main, four as a starter or side.
I’ve made a few different versions of this finely chopped savoy cabbage-based salad over the last few weeks both are a marriage of a vinegar-based coleslaw and a slightly heartier winter salad.
Approximate quantities: 1/4 head Savoy cabbage, sliced very finely; 4-6 ounces of butter lettuce, roughly chopped; 1 red bell pepper, sliced finely; 2 carrots, sliced into thin discs or julienned; 1/2 of a medium purple diakon radish; 1/2 of a seedless cucumber, sliced into thin crescents
Approximate quantities: 1/2 head Savoy cabbage, sliced very finely; 1 red bell pepper, sliced finely; 4 carrots, sliced into thin discs or julienned; 10 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut lengthwise; 1 medium watermelon radish, or 6 or so red radishes, sliced into thin discs
Both are dressed with my current favorite vinaigrette blend: 30 ml of olive oil; 30 ml of red wine vinegar; 15 g of Dijon mustard, or if you like a little extra kick, a horseradish mustard; and the juice of 1/2 of 1 lemon
If you have the time, about two hours before serving, chop the cabbage finely and the toss with about 1 teaspoon of salt and allow it to drain in a colander
Then, about an hour before serving, shake the excess water out of the cabbage, or pat with a paper towel, and toss the cabbage with 1/2 of the vinaigrette and allow it to marinate
Before serving, toss cabbage with remaining vegetables
Approximate quantities: 10 ounces of butter lettuce, roughly chopped; 2 ounces of radicchio, roughly chopped; 1 medium watermelon radish, sliced into thin crescents; 2 carrots, sliced into thin discs; 10 ounces of sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut lengthwise; 1 avocado, sliced lengthwise
Dressed with my new favorite homemade vinaigrette blend: 30 ml of olive oil; 30 ml of red wine vinegar; 15 g of Dijon mustard, or if you like a little extra kick, a horseradish mustard; and the juice of 1/2 of 1 lemon
This is probably what Food52 would call an off-road of Deb Perelman’s Simplest Spaghetti Al Limone or what Julia Turshen would call a small victory — last night, rather than make spaghetti al limone, sugar snap peas, and salad, I make a very satisfying one-pot dinner.
8 ounces dried radiatore or penne
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
100 grams Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
8-10 ounces of sugar snap peas
2 cups butter lettuce and radicchio, roughly chopped
Boil the radiatore in well-salted water according to package directions
While it boils, finely grate (with a rasp-style grater; here’s the most common one) the lemon zest into the large bowl you’ll use to serve your dish
Use the same rasp-style grater to grate the Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano cheese into the large serving bowl
Add olive oil and butter and about 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper and combine them with a whisk until very well mixed and as smooth as possible
Trim the sugar snap peas and cut them lengthwise and add them to the colander that you’ll use to drain the radiatore
When the pasta reaches the ideal texture, scoop out 1 cup of cooking water, set it aside, and then drain the pasta and the water over the snap peas to just barely blanch them
Quickly turn piping hot radiatore and peas to lemon-cheese mixture in bowl and use tongs or spoons to toss it until all of the strands are coated
Add the lemon juice and I don’t find it necessary to add any reserved pasta water, but if the sauce seems think or sticky add pasta water — 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time
Finally add the roughly chopped lettuce and toss one final time
Approximate quantities: 8 ounces butter lettuce, roughly chopped; 1 ounce baby kale; 2 small cucumbers, sliced into thin discs; 3 medium sized carrots, sliced into thin discs; 8-12 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed; 1 avocado, cut into slices; 8 ounces roasted sweet potato wedges; drizzled with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper to taste
Serves two as a main.