Salad

We would never ask you to use your blender if it didn’t make a smoother and better dressing. The effort is worth it; you’ll have enough sauce to get you through a week of lunches.

This recipe is inspired by Gado-gado, a colorful and crunchy Indonesian salad, made with a wide array of raw and cooked vegetables (and sometimes noodles). The dressing is usually peanut-based, but we used cashews. Feel free to try another tender nut such as pistachios or pecans instead.

The squid only takes 3 minutes to sear for this simple salad.

The ideal bring-to-your-friend's-dinner-party salad.

Look for Castelvetrano olives for this salad recipe; their buttery flesh and mild flavor will convert the most olive-averse.

This tahini dressing recipe goes especially well with bitter greens but can also be paired with sweeter lettuces such as Little Gem or romaine.

To test boiled potatoes for doneness, use a skewer or the tines of a fork rather than the tip of a knife so you know they’re truly tender (a knife slides through the flesh way too easily). To test boiled eggs for doneness—wait, you can’t! Just make sure the eggs are room temperature when you drop them in the water (otherwise they’re prone to cracking), set a timer right away, and have an ice bath at the ready.

Cooking bacon in the oven on a sheet tray is so hands-off, so splatter-free, and so easy, it just might convince you to eat a lot more bacon in the future.

If you have a perfectly ripe melon—great! If you don’t, no worries. The salt, acid, and a bit of heat here will give life to lackluster specimens.

You want that lamb fat to render out gently; it’ll eventually become part of the sauce that will tie the whole dish together.

The juices from the tomatoes, squash, and dressing make for a magical combination—you’ll need crusty bread to soak it up with.

If you prefer skinless, boneless thighs, that’s fine too. You will need to add about 2 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan to start, and your total cook time will be shorter. Change up the crunchy vegetables as you wish—any sturdy veggie that you enjoy eating raw will be equally good.

This sauce tastes like a cross between ranch and Alabama white sauce, which means you can basically put it on anything.

A beautifully simple salad.

A salad where one of the main ingredients is cheese? Okay yes.

How to make a simple salad look like the work of a pro.

It's not about the number of steps or ingredients in a dish. If you shop smart, buying peak-season produce and quality protein, you don't have to do much at all (like with this easy salad recipe).

Serve this salad as soon as it is assembled so all of the tomato juices and flavor stay where they belong.

We highly recommend using more than one type of radish for this salad—it really makes a difference in both texture and presentation.

You can make this salad ahead of time—but wait until an hour before to add the lemon juice, which will prevent the shrimp from getting tough.