Bring This Delicious Salad to Your Next Summer Gathering

To maintain a super-fresh aura for your salad, choose the best possible ingredients.

Make-ahead salads add color and freshness to any table. JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

A friend of mine recently remarked that it looks like I am having fun when I cook. She admits cooking is not for her.

That’s fine; I’ll bring the salads, dessert, whatever to her house. My pleasure. Truly. Especially now that we are entering peak local produce season, the perfect time to offer to contribute to a potluck.

Vegetable salads can be time-consuming, so a host usually welcomes their contribution. There are several tricks you can use to make your salad contribution as appealing as the rest of the meal.

First, freshness is key—it shows in rich colors and textures. To maintain a super-fresh aura for your salad, choose the best possible ingredients, don’t work too far in advance, refrigerate the ingredients, and hold back on the dressing until serving time.

Second, properly dressing a vegetable salad or a green leafy salad separates the pros from the amateurs. Overdressed salads tend to be out of balance, soggy, and unappealing. You can always add more.

Third, offer a variety of textures. Think croutons, crunchy noodles, and fried onions on a green salad added at the last minute. Nuts and seeds on a blanched vegetable salad, crisp pickles in a slaw. Add them just before serving to maintain their texture.

Speaking of slaw, a well-chilled coleslaw enlivens any barbecue or summer potluck with the crunch of cabbage in a tangy dressing. This summer, chunks of smoky ham and crisp pickle bits pepper a slaw of green and red cabbage laced with carrot shreds.

Transport your salad in an attractive container that can be securely covered. Our mothers had it right, investing in huge Tupperware bowls with tight-fitting lids. These days, a good, clingy film can be sufficient when a serving bowl lacks a lid.

Volunteer to cook. You will be a hero.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad With Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Break or cut cauliflower and broccoli heads (stems trimmed) into large bite-sized florets. Look for super small tomatoes to add whole to salads. Larger cherry tomatoes should be halved or quartered for easier eating.

Makes 6 to 8 servings as a side

• 6 cups small cauliflower florets, about 16 ounces
• 1 1/2 cups fresh shelled or frozen peas (thawed), about 6 ounces
• 6 cups small broccoli florets, about 10 ounces
• 3 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 2 cups teeny tomatoes or quartered cherry tomatoes
• Creamy cilantro dressing (see recipe)
• French-fried onions, for garnish

Heat 2 large saucepans full of salted water to boil. Add cauliflower to 1 saucepan. Cook uncovered, stirring once in a while, until nearly fork-tender, about 6 minutes. Add the peas and cook 1 minute more. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again.

Cook the broccoli in the second saucepan until nearly fork-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again.

Put cauliflower, peas, and broccoli into a large serving bowl. Gently stir in tomatoes and green onions. Refrigerate tightly covered up to a day.

Just before serving, add enough of the creamy cilantro dressing to coat the vegetables lightly. Taste for salt. Serve sprinkled with fried onions.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Makes about 1 cup

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1 clove garlic, quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons each, roughly chopped: fresh basil, parsley

Put yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, salt, and pepper into a blender or small food processor. Process with on-and-off turns until smooth.

Add cilantro, basil, and parsley to the blender. Process with on-and-off turns until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt.

Refrigerate covered up to several days. Use at room temperature.

Pickle Slaw With Ham and Cheddar

Serves 8

A bowl of chilled coleslaw topped with smoky ham captures the easygoing spirit of summer. JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoon dill pickle juice (or 1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar)
• 1 or 2 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream
• 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill or dried tarragon (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 packages (9 to 10 ounces each) shredded cabbage with carrots or coleslaw mixture
• 3/4 cup diced deli-style dill pickles
• 2 cups chopped ham, about 8 ounces
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
• Crumbled potato chips, for garnish

Mix mayonnaise, dill pickle juice, half-and-half, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in shredded cabbage until well mixed. Stir in pickles. Refrigerate covered at least 30 minutes or up to several hours.

Before serving, stir in ham and cheese. Sprinkle with crumbled chips.

Freshness is key—it shows in rich colors and textures. JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

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