Side

The flavor of the spiced pickled fennel really pops with the sweet tomatoes.

When it comes to buying feta, you’ve got choices. We love the firm texture and sheep’s-milk tang of Bulgarian or Greek.

The dressing in this dish, from Puritan & Co. in Boston, is destined to become your new go-to creamy Caesar.

This well-seasoned butter will douse each ear of corn with flavor as it melts.

We love the shades of green you get from using one color of heirlooms, but this salad is equally delicious with any tomatoes you like.

At Two Boroughs Larder in Charleston, SC, chef Josh Keeler brings out the best in vegetables with…meat. He drizzles a vinaigrette made with cured soppressata over a rotating cast of seasonal produce, like okra and green beans.

“I love the richness of the feta and the crunch of the sunflower seeds against the tender squash.” —Dawn Perry, senior food editor

Sweet from dates, sour from lemon, bitter from celery, and salty from Parmesan, this humble salad manages to get all taste buds firing at once.

In this simple preparation, spinach stems add textural interest to the wilted leaves. Make sure to be thorough when squeezing out the greens, otherwise the dressing will get watered down.

At Alma, Los Angeles, these airy beignets are topped with yuzu kosho, a spicy condiment made with yuzu (an aromatic Japanese citrus), chile, and salt. Though not the same, we got great results using lemons.

If you’d like, let the croutons sit in the pepper mixture until the bread is fairly soft; it’ll soak up the flavorful dressing.

Toasting grains and seeds is a simple move that adds texture and deep flavor to this green salad. The dressing will be milder if you use fresh horseradish, or sharp and a tad spicy if you use prepared.

Soaking the cut raw potatoes in water removes surface starch, which yields crispier fries and prevents them from clumping together as they cook. Make sure to dry them thoroughly so that they don't cause the hot oil to spatter when you add them to the pot.

The flavors of this dish combine cooling spices (fennel, coriander) with the heat of a jalapeño. Remove the seeds from the pepper if you like things a little less fiery.

Bruising the cucumbers helps break down their flesh, which is then better able to absorb the flavor of the marinade.

At Ava Gene's, chef Joshua McFadden always dresses his salads with the acidic components first so the produce can absorb some of those flavors before being coated with oil.

An invigorating hit of citrus brings together crisp apples, toasty bread and nuts, and sharp cheese, making this one of our favorite recipes this year.

Sauté whatever leafy greens you like or happen to have on hand; it’s an ideal way to use up those slightly past their prime.

Typically steamed or sautéed, fresh mustard greens are also great raw and simply dressed. “I like the strength they give to salads,” says chef Frederik de Pue, of Table, Washington, D.C.

Try chef Rene Ortiz’s Ginger-Garlic Tofu with his addictive broccolini. A generous dose of red pepper flakes, a good hunk of butter, and a big squeeze of lemon transform them. “The fat, the butter, the acid,” says Ortiz, chef at Sway, Austin: “It makes you want to keep going back for more.”

At farmers’ markets, look for Golden Bantam or Silver Queen varieties to make this tarragon creamed corn recipe.

Feel free to play with different herbs in the chimichurri recipe—that’s what Michael and Patrick Sheerin (brothers and co-chefs at Trenchermen, Chicago) have always done: “When we were younger, our mom would buy lots of herbs, but she’d never use them,” says Michael. “So we’d just blend them with garlic, oil, and vinegar.”

Use a metal cake tester or thin paring knife to check the potatoes; they should still hold their shape but offer no resistance when pierced.