Editors Of Food52 - Food52 mighty salads: 60 new ways to turn salad into dinner-and make-ahead lunches, too

Thank Yous

To get hereto one cohesive book of stories, recipes, and tidbits about saladit took a lot (a lot) of peoples individual talents and ideas and opinions. Without any of these folks, the book would be missing a little flare. So for that:

Thank you, immensely, to EmilyC: We know your real name is Emily Connor, but we will always call you by your Food52 username. We measure all of our salads to the standards yours set, so getting thirty new recipes from you is like hitting the jackpot. Were grateful for your endless spunk, your excitement for this project, your enviable precision, and, simply, for making this process really fun.

Team Salad, also known as the Food52 editorial team (Kristen Miglore, Ali Slagle, Sarah Jampel, Kenzi Wilbur, Amanda Sims, Caroline Lange, Samantha Weiss-Hills, and Leslie Stephens): Weve always managed to turn out pretty okay salads together with whatevers left in our respective fridges, so of course you wrote great headnotes and scouted great tips. Kristen and Sarah also know how to show off a salads best sidesand style it before it wilts. They, too, are the soundboard and support system that kept Ali smiling as she kept this show on the road.

Were in awe of the creative cats James Ransom and Alexis Anthony, whose eagerness to try new things; commitment to telling a singular, beautiful story; and patience as the food stylists played with baby greens gave this book its dynamic feel. Alexis, your thoughtful art direction is apparent in every photo, and James, youre a magician (you know what we mean). Thank you also to the kitchenJosh Cohen and his team Allison Buford, Scott Cavagnaro, Elena Apostolides, and Shannon Elliotfor cooking salad and not cooking it when the stylists wanted to, and to Carmen Ladipo, prop police and overall invaluable helping hand.

Thank you to Amanda and Merrill, for letting us do our salad thing in book form and encouraging us to have more fun and make bigger messes (within reason!!). And to the rest of the Food52 team, champions of not sad desk salads: Its all your under-the-hood work that lets this book be its best self. You are evidence that people do take care to make a salad, so we hope you buy this book for everyone you know! You, too, Amanda and Merrill.

To our troupe of testers, led by Stephanie BourgeoisAngela Barros, Anna Francese Gass, Emily Olson, and Kate Knappthank you for treating salad like the precise science it isnt. Thank you also to CB Owens, proofing as precisely as the best.

Gratitude goes to everyone at Ten Speed Press, for knowing that salad is a topic deserving of a whole book and the center plate. It must be the Berkeley in you.

If it wasnt for our community, this book probably wouldve been exclusively quinoa, farro, and kale salads. These people are the ones who dreamt up salads so mighty, we crave them. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us on Food52 and now in this book: Abbie Argersinger, Arielle Arizpe, Jeannine Balletto, Annaliese Bischoff, Mark Bittman, Nancy Brush, Christine Burns Rudalevige, Canal House, Josh Cohen, Dorie Colangelo, Emily Connor, Nicholas Day, Jennifer Engle, Sarah Fioritto, Phyllis Grant, Suzanne Goin, Emily Nichols Grossi, Shannon Hulley, Ideas in Food, Shruti Jain, Sarah Jampel, Sara Jenkins, Amanda Hesser, Catherine Lamb, Hunter Lewis, Paula Marchese, Kristen Miglore, Aleksandra Mojsilovic, Helen Morille, Ann Taylor Pittman, Barbara Reiss, Ali Slagle, Elizabeth Stark, Merrill Stubbs, Kenzi Wilbur, and Caroline Wright.

To show our appreciation, in a most fitting of ways, we made a recipe for you (we couldnt make a book without a dessert).

Berry Salad with Brioche Croutons (and a Side of Thank-You)

Heat the oven to 350F (175C). Cut 4 large slices of brioche into bite-size cubes. In a baking dish, combine the brioche with a handful of chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnutsyour pick). Drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden, about 7 minutes. Let cool, then store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When youre ready for dessert, toss whatever berries you like with some raw sugar (that is the dressing) and divide among 4 bowls. Top with the brioche croutons and be merry.

Grilled Peach & Apricot Salad with Kale and Prosciutto

Sturdy greens + cured meat + grilled fruit + crumbly cheese

Serves 4 | From Nicholas Day

You might think this dressing sounds overly simplified (olive oil and lemon? Why do I need a recipe for that?), but the genius comes when you top the salad with smoky, sweet, still-hot grilled stone fruit. Its juices seep down into the greens and finish what little work you put into the dressing. Add a bit of prosciutto and a tumble of feta, and youve basically got a cheese plate in a bowl. Which, really, is what you wanted from a salad cookbook, right?

1 bunch lacinato kale

Kosher salt

cup (60ml) olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste

4 ounces (115g) prosciutto, thinly sliced

4 peaches, halved

4 apricots, halved

Neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or grapeseed), for brushing

cup (40g) crumbled feta cheese

Crusty bread, for serving

Heat the grill to medium-high and brush your grates clean. While the grill heats up, prepare the kale. Fold a leaf in half along the central rib. With a sharp knife, cut away the rib and discard. Tear or chop the kale leaves into bite-size pieces and place them in a large salad bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and massage, kneading it for a minute or so, until it softens. Whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice. Tear or cut the prosciutto into bite-size pieces and set both aside.

When the grill is reasonably but not overwhelmingly hot, brush the peaches and apricots very lightly with the neutral oil and grill, cut side down, until deeply caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Toss the kale with the dressing and feta. Add the prosciutto, followed by the still-hot peaches and apricots, letting their juices seep into the kale. If there are any extra juices on the plate, add those too. Eat with crusty bread.

Genius Tip: Melty Cheese Dressing

Youre used to finding hard cheese in crags or pebbles here and there in your salad, but they can also become a more even, consistent coat by melting the cheese into a dressing. Canal Houses method starts like youre making cacio e pepe pasta and ends with a milky, emulsified, deeply pungent dressing. Stir 1 cups (150g) finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese and cup (120ml) boiling water in a large bowl until the cheese is melted. Whisk in cup (120ml) extra-virgin olive oil, then season with freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the melty cheese dressing over skinny asparagus, fresh peas, and delicate lettuce leaves, if youre Canal Housealso over heartier greens, roasted vegetables, or scrambled eggs, if youre us.

Petits Pois la Franaise Redux

Charred greens + charred alliums + bacon + creamy dressing

Serves 4 | From Aleksandra Mojsilovic

Petits pois la franaise is classically a simple braise of peas, lettuce, and onions. But Aleksandra Mojsilovic, a scientist by day and James Beard Awardnominated blogger by night, zhooshed it into this, a salad other salads aspire to be: understated at first but full of splendor and temptation. Charred lettuce, peas, and scallions. Caramelized bacon. A luxurious dressing of crme frache, buttermilk, mayonnaise, and lemon. You could serve the scallions and lettuce whole for cutting at the table and add some soft-boiled eggs (). Any which way, youll also want a glass of Chenin Blanc and the sun, setting.