Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Homemade poppy seed dressing pairs beautifully with tender spinach, crunchy almonds and juicy berries for a fantastically refreshing and easy spring salad. To make ahead, whisk dressing, combine salad ingredients and store separately. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving. To make it a complete meal, top with grilled chicken or shrimp.
Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Feta & Walnuts
Sweet strawberries, salty feta and crunchy walnuts jazz up a simple spinach salad. The balsamic vinaigrette is incredibly easy; fresh shallots add more zip than you'll find in any commercial dressing.
Spring Pea Salad with Strawberries
As delicious as it is beautiful, this spring pea salad recipe is a potluck or dinner party stunner. Assemble the salad and dress just before serving--or serve the dressing next to the salad for people to drizzle. The tangy champagne vinaigrette balances the grassy sweetness of the peas and fruity pop of the berries.
"Use a Spoon" Chopped Salad
When Paul Newman and Michel Nischan opened their Westport, Connecticut, restaurant Dressing Room, Paul's request was that the menu always include a chopped salad that you could eat with a spoon. This chopped salad recipe is full of great flavors, colors and textures, featuring celery, carrots, red pepper, apple, cucumber, greens, cabbage, goat cheese and almonds. This is great for any holiday meal: you can let it stand and it stays crisp.
Beet Salad
It's time we rescued beets from our childhood nightmares--when they were little better than bland wedges scooped out of a can. Roasted beets are delightful, sweet but very earthy and aromatic--great for a side salad.
Strawberry Fruit Salad
This summer berry fruit salad recipe makes enough for a crowd. Serve with granola and yogurt at brunch, as a healthy potluck side, or halve the recipe to serve 4.
Cucumber Cups with Deviled Ham Salad
Swap crostini for cucumber cups to hold ham salad in this easy appetizer recipe. Bring these healthy, crunchy bites to your next potluck or serve them at brunch and watch them disappear.
Little Gem Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese & Herb Dressing
Little Gem lettuce is like a cross between romaine and butterhead. It's perfect for making an updated take on the wedge salad in this healthy recipe. If you can't find Little Gem, use half a romaine heart for each serving. You can order Point Reyes Original blue cheese online from pointreyescheese.com or substitute another raw-milk blue cheese.
Warm Dandelion Greens with Roasted Garlic Dressing
In this springtime salad, dandelion greens (or spinach, if you prefer) are tossed with a warm roasted garlic dressing, tangy goat cheese and toasted pine nuts for melt-in-your-mouth results.
Asparagus Salad with Eggs & Jambon de Bayonne
This impressive-looking asparagus salad recipe is actually very easy to make. After quickly boiling the asparagus, the same water is used to soft-boil the eggs. Piment d'Espelette is a sweet, spicy ground pepper from the Basque region of France. While it's not essential, it does add a subtle kick to the otherwise mellow flavors of this salad. Look for this spice at specialty stores and well-stocked markets--or substitute smoked paprika.
Roasted Rhubarb Salad
Rhubarb roasted for just a few minutes is a tart topping for a mixed green salad with raisins, walnuts and goat cheese.
Radish, Herb & Feta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Sorrel, a perennial herb common in French cooking, adds bright, lemony flavor to this healthy spring salad recipe. The red-veined variety is particularly pretty but if you can't find it, try using baby arugula, pea shoots or mixed greens.
