Salad

“It's everything I want in a salad: sweet, crunchy, and bright.” –Claire Saffitz, assistant food editor

Make this once with measuring spoons and cups; the next time, just eyeball it, adjusting any or all of the ingredients to suit your palate. Then you can call it your classic.

A lighter, brighter option for all you Caesar salad lovers.

This dressing is equally good drizzled over hard-boiled eggs or with crudité for dipping.

This light, fresh salad is made even crunchier with a sprinkling of pine nuts.

Crème fraîche delivers tang along with creamy butterfat to this deconstructed salad; Greek yogurt can be substituted if you wish.

If puffing the quinoa feels like too much, swap in some chopped toasted nuts to get a similar crunchy texture.

The delicate flavor of rice vinegar along with the other Asian ingredients in this vinaigrette is ideal on tender greens like mizuna or mâche.

Squid is tender when it’s either cooked quickly over high heat, or gently for a long time. This is the quick version.

Overcooked lobsters will be tough and rubbery; if yours are less than 1½ pounds each, decrease the cooking time by a few minutes.

Using your food processor’s shredding blade makes this simple bistro salad a very doable weeknight option.

Does the world need another chicken salad? Yep. This mayo-free one, with herby roasted (not poached) chicken and a mustardy dressing will convince you.

The difference between this papaya salad and a Thai-style one comes down to spice and sugar, says chef and author David Tanis. The Vietnamese one is sweeter and less hot. Have all the ingredients assembled, but dress the salad just before serving.

Strawberries and rhubarb are a power duo in pie; here raw rhubarb plays a tart counter to sweet strawberries.

All the flavors of a steak sandwich on rye, but in salad form.

Cooking the trout skin side down and only quickly finishing it off on the other side ensures fish will be perfectly crisp.

The crispy bits are the key to this pork’s deliciousness. Use a wide, flat spatula for the best effect.

Our readers asked us to whip up a healthy fish dish—and here's what our test kitchen whipped up

From underseasoning to overdressing, it's surprisingly easy to ruin a salad. Watch out for these 6 common mistakes, and you can avoid this sad fate

Little Gem—the sweet, compact lettuce that resembles romaine after you strip away the outer leaves—is great for salads