Ina introduced me to the magical bread salad that is panzanella, and my summers have never been the same. Ina reworks her classic version of toasted bread cubes, red onions, tomatoes, pepper and cucumber tossed garlic/Dijon vinaigrette and swaps out the basil and capers for the even better (IMHO) feta and Kalamata olives.
Zaynab Issa’s twist on this street-food favorite, Halal Cart Chicken Salad, which will satisfy my itch until I’m back in the city for some halal cart deliciousness.
The base of the salad is tasty by itself, featuring ribbons of Tuscan kale, cooked green lentils, feta and Castelvetrano olives. However, the spiced oil takes this to the absolute next level! It’s infused with scallion, lemon, garlic, cumin and crushed red chili flakes with coarsely chopped almonds – ensuring every bite of this salad is a dream.
Lidey jokes that this is her husband’s favorite salad because it doesn’t contain any lettuce – and on this point I couldn’t agree more, many of my favorites are lettuce-less.
This vibrant salad combines chickpeas and Kalamata olives with diced tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, red onion, capers, scallions and parsley all tossed in a garlic and oregano red wine vinaigrette.
Refreshing and simple Marinated Cucumber with Fried Shallots – peeled cucumbers are cut into quarters and then marinated in garlic, salt, toasted sesame oil, and MSG. Just before serving you top with a healthy amount of cilantro and fried shallots.
Back in those pre-pandemic days when I wasn’t working from home full-time, one of my favorite lunch spots near our office was La Pecora Bianca and my favorite dish was their farro salad – no wonder with the similarities to my other favorite: Charlie Bird farro salad from Cook Like A Pro!
Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad is a dish I’ve made countless times. It’s the perfect contrast of flavors and textures resulting in a very satisfying salad with farro, arugula, tomatoes, sliced radish, pistachios, and shaved parmesan all dressed in a lemon vinaigrette.
This is the perfect way to kick off the meal and leaves plenty of room for a bowl full of pasta. The vibrant salad is composed of butter and gem lettuce, frisee, watercress, and endive all dressed in Via Carota’s vinaigrette containing shallot, garlic, thyme, and sherry vinegar.