This New York Times cooking recipe was a nice combination of flavors and textures. We did what many reviewers suggested and served it decomposed for assembly tableside. Each component of this dish could easily be made ahead and served a day or two later.

Ingredients
~1.5 lb salmon fillets
Olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 limes, 1 zested and juiced, the other quartered for garnish

The free-wheeling cousin of sushi, a good poke bowl can be a make-your-own adventure meal with whatever you have on-hand. The fish can be sauced or un-sauced, depending on your preference. Here are some ideas:

To season your fish, mix together the following to taste:
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Green onion
Sriracha

To make your poke bowl, compose many or few of the following together in a bowl:
Sushi rice flavored with rice vinegar and sugar and/or mirin
Tuna or salmon, seasoned (or not) as above

A delightful Bon Appetit summer side.

Serves 2

2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 large, ripe peach, pitted and thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lime
Flaky sea salt
Aleppo pepper

Combine.
Toss.
Eat.

A very tasty and very easy recipe from The New York Times. Especially easy if you use peeled and deveined shrimp.

3 ounces lime juice (from about 3 limes)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons nam prik pao (Thai chile paste in oil -- we used our supermarket's sweet thai chili sauce)
2 finely chopped Thai bird chiles, or to taste
1 pound large shrimp
2 stalks lemongrass, outer layers removed and white parts finely sliced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced

Billed as Caribbean by Bon Appetit, this mango chow could go equally well with Indian, Thai, or other South/Southeast Asian cuisines. Sweet, spicy, salty, and sour -- delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
½ Scotch bonnet chile or habanero chile, thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed if less heat is desired
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ripe but firm mango, peeled, cut into ½-inch-thick spears
½ English hothouse cucumber

• cherry tomatoes halved or heirloom tomatoes, sliced
• chopped red onion

• diced celery, optional

• 3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, divided

• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Based loosely on http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/flank-steak-with-bl...

2 ripe Fuyu persimmons (wide, tomato/pumpkin shaped)
3 tablespoons Roughly Chopped Toasted Hazelnuts or walnuts
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
balsamic vinegar or pomegranate molasses, for drizzling, optional
Maldon sea salt or other flaky sea salt, for garnish
1 piece fresh burrata cheese

Thinly slice persimmon and distribute on a plate. Serve with burrata (or sliced fresh mozzarella), and nuts, pomegranite seeds sprinkled on top, lightly drizzle with olive oil.

Via http://saltandwind.com/recipes/417-persimmon-carpaccio-burrata-r...

Inspired by something I saw on a menu, I created this nice summer salad.

Lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
Red Onion
Red pepper
Corn
Avocado
Hard-boiled egg
Bacon (sub: shredded brisket, fried onions)

Dressing:
Mayo
Grated parmesan
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper

or vinaigrette thickened with a little mayo

So, I'm mildly obsessed with TaKorean's spicy kale slaw with hoisin tofu. The combination of flavors is so delicious that I forego the taco entirely to get a big bowl of this combination instead. When Bon Appetit posted a recipe that seemed similar in flavor profile to the kale slaw half of the TaKorean dish, I decided to try and recreate this treat at home. This is by no means the actual recipe that TaKorean uses, but I think it's a pretty damned good replica.

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground sumac
Kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses or ½ tsp. honey
2 cups (lightly packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems
¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Toss onion, sugar, and sumac in a medium bowl; season with salt and let sit 30 minutes. Add oil, vinegar, and pomegranate molasses and toss to combine; let sit 5 minutes.

Just before serving, toss in parsley and pomegranate seeds; season with salt. Could add crumbled feta as well.

We first had this salad at a Thai/Lao restaurant in Virginia. It was freakin' awesome, and so we set making it at home. We combined three recipes and the result was quite good.

This recipe from Bon Appetit uses raw kale and brussels sprout to make a delicious, nutty salad.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side.

For the salad:

1/2 bunch of Tuscan or lacinato kale (about 1/4 lb), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced or shredded in food processor
1/2 pint of brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely sliced or shredded in food processor
1/2 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino

For the dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper

Based on this recipe from Bon Appetit

Dressing
1 small shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Salad
2 cups cooked basmati rice, cooled
2 cups bite-size pieces assorted vegetables (such as radishes, tomatoes, peas, summer squash) or carrot ribbons
3/4 cup torn mixed leafy greens, sprouts, and herbs

This Bon Appetit rice salad was easy and delicious. It also could easily be made vegetarian (and is already gluten free) by omitting the fish sauce or replacing it with soy sauce. The fish sauce smell can be a bit off-putting on the first day, so if you're not a fan, just skip it.

Serves 2-4

1 orange
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1 cup black rice (preferably Lotus Foods Forbidden Rice)

1 Grapefruit
1 Lemon
(other citrus as desired)
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced, and some fronds
1 cup dried chickpeas, rehydrated and cooked
greens (optional)
5 oz feta, crumbled (optional)

Cut peel and pith from citrus; cut between membranes to release segments. Squeeze juice from membranes into a medium bowl; whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss in citrus, chickpeas, fennel, greens and feta, and a handful of fennel fronds.

Via http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/03/chickpea-fennel-and-ci...

Every week, we include a "big salad night" on our menu. Depending on the cuisine we've selected, that can be easy or hard. For example, Asian week? That's easy - chinese chicken salad. Italian week? Try a caesar salad or (my personal favorite) panzanella salad.

Indigo, the Indian food stall at Eastern Market, makes a spectacular chana chaat - basically, a chick-pea/vegetable salad/snack thing.  It's quite frankly delicious.  In anticipation of an Indian dinner party were we hosting, I coaxed the main ingredients out of the very nice woman who does all the cooking at the stall.  While she wouldn't reveal her secret spice blend, some internet reserach gave us enough clues to fill in the holes.

Obviously, this is a very notional recipe and the proportions can be added to suit your taste.  The resulting product shouldn't be soupy, but dressed in the sauce blend as a salad would be.

Adapted from The Bitten Word, adapted from Food & Wine.  We didn't have any Harissa handy, so we improvised.  This salad provides a great, bright and spicy contrast to a tagine dish.

For the salad

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I am a big fan of any number of "middle eastern salads" - lettuce-less salads which go by different names (with slightly different twists) in a variety of middle eastern and mediterranean cuisines. Yes, there is a difference between a fattoush salad and a shirazi salad, but frankly, I find that what I want is the same basic recipe with a few optional modifications, depending on how the dish will fit into the week's menu.

The basic vegetable components of the salad are:
Diced tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes)

This dish makes a great week-long side dish for summer - a chilled, but protein-rich vegetarian dish!

1 can black beans
1 can pinto or small red beans
1 can small white beans
2-3 jalapenos, chopped
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, lightly chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 can or 2 ears corn (boil, cut off kernels)
salt and pepper to taste
salsa, to taste

Avocado
Tomato
more limes to taste

Mix together all but avocado and tomato and let the flavors marry overnight. Add chopped avocado and tomato, and more limes and salsa to taste, upon serving.

A recipe of my own creation, but inspired by this one.

I don't have measurements, but sort of just made this using the following ingredients until it tasted right and balanced.

Cooked chicken, chopped or torn into smallish pieces (I always start with a rotisserie chicken from Eastern Market, but any chicken will do)
Apple, diced into small pieces
Red onion, diced into small pieces
Raisins (I'm partial to golden raisins, but it doesn't matter; dried cranberries could be used here too)
Cilantro, finely chopped

For the Cæsar salad dressing:

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2-3 anchovy fillets
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Freshly ground black pepper

Blend together garlic, anchovies, egg yolks, dijon and lemon juice until smooth. Slowly add in the olive oil and emulsify. Stir in pepper and parmesan.

For the salad, combine chopped romaine and croutons (toast diced baguette cubes tossed with olive oil)

This is the recipe I used for our annual batch of canned sweet pickles.

Yield: 3+ pints (I saved some in the fridge for a quick pickle with dinner)

• ~6 small Kirby (pickling cucumbers), sliced 1/8" thick
• 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups vinegar (split between white vinegar and rice vinegar)
• 1 cup sugar
• Salt

Sprinkle sliced cucumbers with salt. Let stand for 5 minutes. Wash off salt and drain.

Heat jars and lids.

This salad dressing recipe is courtesy of Casey Taylor Patten of Taylor Gourmet, a Gourmet Italian Deli in DC. I had it on an arugula and watercress salad at the H Street Freshfarm Market, a few months ago. This dressing is particularly nice on a sweetish salad - strawberries, oranges, goat cheese, red onions, and candied pecans were on the first salad I tried it with. My one note is that if your olive oil is very olivy, it can overwhelm the flavor. Either use a milder oil or forgot the olive oil altogether. I thought it tasted great either way.

Delicious and easy ... if you can find fresh chick peas (garbanzo beans).

2 cups fresh garbanzo beans, washed
olive oil to coat pan
pat butter (if desired, for flavor)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water

Heat oil and butter in sautee pan. Add garbanzo beans in a single layer. Add water and lemon juice. Cover. Cook about 4 minutes, or until undersides of bean start to brown and burn. Only shake side to side while cooking.

Pour into a bowl (with oil/juices) and serve. Eat sort of like edamame. Lick fingers.

I learned to make this by watching my mom, so I don't really have an exact recipe. But, this is my best guess:

1/2 green cabbage, shredded with "slicer" disk in food processor
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup of sugar
2-3 Tbsp apple cider or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp of horseradish (red or white, doesn't really matter)
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Optional: slivers of apples, raisins, or halved grapes - for a little extra sweet explosion

This is a great fresh chutney that could go with most carribean or indian dishes. Vary the size of the mango chunks to taste.