Salad

When local lettuces rear their heads, it's time to make summer salads—with a dressing perfectly appropriate for the greens. Here's how, with 4 recipes

Is making pasta salad itself a mistake? Not if you follow our tips on upgrading this summertime picnic staple

We’d serve this dressed-down chicken salad for brunch, pack it for lunch, or make it as a light dinner on a hot summer night.

This two-part cooking technique adds layers of texture—a creamy inside and a crisp outside.

The flavor of this salad deepens as it sits, and we’d use the vinaigrette on any bean salad, including green beans.

“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.

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

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

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.