Bean and Legume

This adaptation of a traditional Middle Eastern salad is filled with vigorous flavors and textures. I especially like it with Middle Eastern-or Spanish-themed meals. For a light summer meal, serve this with Sweet and White Potato Salad with Mixed Greens (page 188).

In my part of the world (the Northeastern United States), we get the best mangos and avocados in mid-to late winter, just when our winter-weary palates need them most. This relishlike salad is not only scrumptious but also lovely to look at. It’s especially welcome with Southwestern-style tortilla dishes.

This appetizing bean salad adds color and crunch to a meal. Make it to bolster grain dishes and pastas.

Here is a salad I enjoyed on my first trip to Paris. It was part of a fantastic, produce-filled lunch in a private residence in Montmartre, overlooking much of the city. The key to this simple salad is to use the best possible ingredients—specially the green beans. Serve as a first course with slices of crusty, whole-grain baguette or Italian bread.

Years ago, as vegetarians, my husband and I traveled through the American heartland, and I remember sampling a traditional salad whose main ingredients are green peas and Cheddar cheese. I expanded this basic formula (as well as the foggy memory) into a recipe that includes pasta, making it more substantial.

The ingredients of salade Niçoise—green beans, white beans, ripe tomatoes, and cured olives—join forces with pasta to make a delectable cold dish. Baked tofu stands in for tuna, another standard Niçoise ingredient.

Like the previous recipe, the combination of grains and beans in this salad makes it an ideal centerpiece for a meal.

Bursting with Southwestern flavors, this salad is as delicious as it is easy.

Crunchy and colorful, this is an appealing presentation for cold Asian noodles.

This was inspired by one of my favorite dishes at Veggie Heaven in Teaneck, New Jersey, an all-vegan Chinese-style eatery. It’s quite unlike their signature mock meat dishes, and really, quite unlike anything I have ever eaten in an Asian restaurant.

I’ll always have a pleasant association with this classic Indonesian salad platter, as it was the first meal I had on my first trip to Paris. The tiny, cozy Indonesian restaurant was right next door to our hotel, and coming straight from an all-night flight, my friend Wendy and I were too tired to venture further before a meal and a nap. Served with plenty of rice, the salad (which always combines raw and lightly cooked vegetables) made for a filling and memorable meal. Here’s my Americanized, but still appealing interpretation.

Potatoes and black beans synergize nicely in this offbeat salad. The liquid from the artichoke hearts provides plenty of flavor.

This recipe is one I’ve used for a long time, though oddly, it has never made it into any of my books until now. It’s an attractive, fast main dish salad that can be made all year round (now that fresh herbs of all kinds are always available in any supermarket), though I still prefer serving it during warmer months. Leftovers of this salad are delicious in a wrap the next day for lunch or dinner.

A feast of color and texture, this salad is, in a word, dazzling. As the centerpiece of a meal, it’s a pleasure to make and serve, ready in minutes.

Bountiful, easy, and filling, these quesadillas entice with the combination of traditional and offbeat ingredients

Swiss chard is a beloved kitchen-garden vegetable in Italian cuisine. Combined with white beans and tomatoes, this stick-to-your-ribs dish will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

One of my favorite things about Paris—after the museums, the streetscapes, the Seine, the style, the beauty, and so on—is the green beans. Yes, you read that right. Parisian green beans are ubiquitous, and always served perfectly ripe and tender-crisp. Here at home, perfect green beans seem to be available only for a month or so in the summer. This dish is a nice way to highlight them during that brief window; however, I’m so fond of it that I use frozen green beans so I can make this regularly. I highly recommend using organic whole baby green beans, if you can find them; otherwise, French-cut beans will do.

Use slender asparagus and you won’t need to scrape the stalks. If you still believe that asparagus should be a harbinger of spring (even though it’s in the market nearly year-round now), make this dish a tradition by serving it every April or May.

Here’s an offbeat way to present a stir-fry. Tofu-filled ravioli are like little dumplings in this dish. Do try to use hoisin sauce to finish the dish. It creates a nice brown glaze and adds just the right flavor kick to the mild ravioli.

Characteristic of some Southeast Asian cuisines is the overlapping of Asian and Indian influences. This is true of this pleasantly offbeat noodle dish, which is seasoned with both soy sauce and curry.