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Salads Worth Getting Excited About
Published about 17 hours ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader,
The spring salads have officially taken over my kitchen. This happened gradually, the way seasonal shifts always do. First a handful of herbs that seemed too fresh to cook. Then a bunch of radishes that practically insisted on being sliced raw. Then last Saturday’s market haul, which arrived home looking so green and self-assured that my Dutch oven regarded the cutting board with what I can only describe as professional concern. I resisted longer than the weather justified. My partner watched this unfold with the calm patience of someone who knew exactly how the story would end and saw no reason to rush the final chapter. My Vovó would have made the switch weeks earlier. The moment the market started whispering spring, she would have listened. But eventually the salads win. They make their case with crunch and brightness—the snap of vegetables that were in the ground yesterday, the smell of a dressing that took five minutes and no measuring cups, the quiet satisfaction of a plate that feels as alive as the day outside. So the oven has been temporarily relieved of duty. The cutting board is running the kitchen. And dinner lately has looked greener, lighter, and far more like the season we’ve been waiting for.
The Spring Salad Playbook
Start with vegetables that still have some attitude. Radishes, asparagus, peas, tender greens—ingredients that bring crunch, sweetness, and brightness.
Keep the dressing sharp and simple. Good olive oil, lemon or vinegar, salt, pepper, maybe a touch of mustard or honey. Spring dressing should wake things up.
Add something creamy or rich. Cheese, avocado, a soft egg, toasted nuts—contrast keeps salads from feeling austere.
Mix textures deliberately. Raw and roasted vegetables together. Crisp greens with something warm. Crunch against tenderness.
Treat salads like dinner, not decoration. A great salad should feel complete—something you look forward to, not something you politely eat before the real meal.
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This roasted beet salad is so easy and can be bulked up by adding some arugula and watercress. It is a lovely side for pan-fried smoked mackerel and crispy potatoes.
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Jamie Oliver's warm arugula salad is easy-peasy and "scrummy", as the man himself says. Warmed and caramelized red onions, pine nuts, and bacon warm the arugula just enough. It's easy. And spectacular.
Endive, blue cheese, and pear salad is an easy and elegant salad that you'll find yourself making again and again. Crispy greens, earthy walnuts, creamy blue cheese, and a flavor-packed vinaigrette guarantees that you'll love it.
This roasted romaine Caesar salad is an easy yet brilliant version of the classic where romaine halves are coated in an anchovy garlic sauce and roasted until tender and wilted.
Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join more than 30,000 food lovers and subscribe.
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