Leafy Greens

Offer this simple, hearty dish with a green salad, crusty garlic bread and a light red wine, like Beaujolais.

Over the Fourth of July weekend in 1924, a group of unexpected guests arrived at Caesar’s Palace restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. Running low on food, the owner, Caesar Cardini, threw together a salad with ingredients he had on hand. He made a thick dressing with a coddled egg, garlic-flavored oil, lemon juice, grated cheese and Worcestershire, which added a taste of anchovy. This dip has all the flavors of that first Caesar salad, and romaine lettuce and fresh veggies are nice “dippers.”

(Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine) Spinach with pine nuts and raisins is a classic Sephardic dish that appears on tables in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy, where it is a staple on Venetian and Genoese menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to delicate fish or poultry dishes and is often served at room temperature.

(Grain and Tomato Salad) One summer my husband, Massimo, and I vacationed with our son, Max, near Lucca, about an hour from Florence. There we discovered a local specialty, farro, an ancient grain (emmer, often called spelt, in English) similar to barley, traditionally used in bean soup there. We bought lots of it, and Massimo then made a salad based on panzanella but substituting the boiled farro, for soaked and squeezed bread — a terrific idea that has become a warm-weather favorite.

The technique for cooking vegetables in water, oil, and vinegar is called à la Grecque, or Greek style. Fennel, celery, pearl onions, and feta cheese round out the salad. Serve a full-boded Chardonnay with it

A feel-good, even-easier spin on stuffed shells.

A spicy-funky upgrade for lettuce cups, sandwiches, and more.

Elegant enough for a dinner party centerpiece, sturdy enough to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Riff on the lunchbox staple. Mayo-haters deserve tuna, too.

So much more affordable than ordering from those fast casual salad chains.

Creamy, vinegary, and with lots of fresh dill.

Chicken salad, pasta salad, and Caesar salad, all in one.

This lasagna soup delivers rich, baked-pasta flavor without an oven. Made with Italian sausage and spinach, it’s a fast, weeknight-friendly take on the classic.

With a gingery egg drop, lots of kale, and toast on the side.

A halfway-homemade pastry to wow anyone.

Cooking down radicchio with vinegar and sugar until jammy is an eye-opening approach that reveals a world of options beyond salad.

A Sicilian-inspired kale salad with creamy almond dressing, raisins, and pine nuts. Excellent for meal prep and packing as a desk lunch.

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

Crisp winter greens and tender slices of steak get the restaurant treatment with a punchy peppercorn dressing, crisp bacon bits, chives, and blue cheese.